A Paige Gone Rogue
by WraithRune
Summary: Halloween, Multiple Crossover. As the Dark Lord Sauron rises in power, only two individuals have the power to stop him, Paige Matthews Halliwell and Xander Harris... the Zeppo. Trap in another dimension where the hope of all worlds lies and ends with them
1. Chapter 1 : Halloween Night

Disclaimer : I do not own Charmed or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. These characters are all great works done by their creators. And it will stay that way :p I own nothing and am only writing this story to see how this two worlds will mesh.

* * *

**Chapter One**

The shop was in a state of pandemonium as kids chattered loudly and busy mothers try to fit their children with the large variety of costumes that were on the shelves and tables. Halloween night will be coming in a few hours time, and there was a rush for last minute costumes. And the good costumes were all in danger of going out soon, which is one of the reasons why Paige Matthews was going against the flow of the crowd, dragging her two 5 year old cousins behind her.

"At last!" Paige gave a sigh of relief as they reached the fairy tale section, where the costumes of various fairy tale creatures were piled up on the table.

Ginny Matthews grabbed a fairy wand from the table and gave an excited squeak. "I want to be a fairy." She pointed to the pink fairy costume in the middle of the pile. Paige dug it out and checked the price tag, twenty dollars. Paige nodded as she passed it to Ginny. Uncle Ben had passed her fifty dollars to pay for the Halloween costumes so they are still within budget.

Paige laughed as Ginny held the frilly pink dress to her shoulder and twirled around in what limited space they had. Her twin brother ducked out of her way and whine at Paige. "Can we get my costume now?" Nash said tugging at her jeans.

"Ok what do you want?" Paige asked. Ginny seemed taken with the fairy costume judging by the happy grin on her face. So after they had picked Nash's costume for the night, they will have to trudge through the crowd to get to the long queue at the cashier. It was a task which Paige is not looking forward to.

Nash grabbed hold of her hand and led her to another table. A batman, robin and superman costumes later they at last find a costume which was acceptable to him. "Spiderman." Nash grinned, holding up the mini spandex Spiderman suit.

"Thank God." Paige muttered under her breath. She was getting slightly claustrophobic from the entire crowd squeezing and pushing. Not to add to the fact that she had to keep a constant eye on the twins in case they ran off into the crowd, and was becoming seriously taxing to her nerves. "Let's go pay up now." Paige said, herding the two children towards the counter.

"What about your costume Paige?" Ginny piped up. Paige groaned she had forgotten about it. Uncle Ben had given her explicit instructions that she was also to get a costume for herself and not come back empty handed. She was the one taking the twins treat or treating tonight and Uncle Ben had insisted that he also pay for her costume and to go enjoy herself tonight.

Paige looked around the crowded shop and noticed that the queue at the cashier had become shorter. If she took her time searching for her costume, she would probably be standing at the end of a long queue again. Quickly Paige snatched a pair of black gloves from the nearest table, looked at the price tag and did a quick mental calculation. _Great they were within budget._ She had a leather jacket somewhere in her suitcase, perhaps she will go with the biker look tonight. Paige grinned, her uncle and aunt will be shocked but they did say to enjoy herself.

"Come, I've got my costume, let's go pay up and go home to get ready for tonight." Paige said as they began the trek through the crowd. Someone jostled her from her left and she turned around to see a black haired young man.

"Oh I'm sorry." The young man apologized, turning back to his two girl friends.

"It's ok." Paige said, leading her charges towards the counter.

She did not notice the words x-men tagged to the inner linings of the gloves.

* * *

"Close call there Xander, you nearly balled her over." Buffy chided. In her hands was a fancy eighteen century dress. She had managed to strike a bargain with the proprietor of the shop and they agreed on a price she could afford. Now the girls were helping Xander search for an appropriate costume or prop. 

"So what are you going as Xander?" Willow asked as she clutched a packet of ghost sheet in her hands.

"Well, I'm thinking of going as a light saber guy this year." Xander said with a chuckled, he fumbled at the toy swords laid out on the table. After sometime of pondering, he picked up a pure white sword that does not look too childish.

"That doesn't look much like a light saber." Buffy said dubiously.

"Well beggars can't be choosers." Xander said turning around. He paused as he saw someone familiar near the entrance. "Hey isn't that Owen Thurman, the one that dated you last time?"

Buffy turned around and gave a grimace as she saw the handsome young man in the distance. "Yeah that's him. It's so awkward, especially since I'm the one that dumped him. How about we hang out here a while until he goes away?"

"I've no problem with that," Willow said. "But look at that sword he's carrying to the counter. Isn't that the highlander prop we saw on display at the shop window?"

"Yeah and it costs a bomb." Xander said with envy. "Rich kids are so lucky."

Buffy sighed. "Well as long as he does not look this direction, I don't care if he's rich or not." She looked at the long queue at the cashier, its going to be a long day. "Come on, let's discuss what time we shall meet at my house."

* * *

Ethan gave a breath of relief as he sent the last of his customers out of his shop. Night was closing in and the time of preparation for the spell he was going to cast needs to be precise. A spell of pure Chaos, to turn everyone into their costumes and let the residents of Sunnydale know the real meaning of horror. 

He stepped into the back of his shop and looked upon the statue of Janus, God of Chaos.

"Time to cast the spell and for Chaos to roam free." He chuckled.

* * *

Halloween night in Sunnydale sure is packed with small kids and teenagers, Paige thought as she led her two charges house to house treat or tricking. 

"Mrs Davis gave me toothbrush." Nash said as he and Ginny stared forlornly at the Donald Duck and Minny Mouse toothbrushes in their hands. Paige stifled a laugh and pushed them next door. "Maybe we'll have better luck here." She said, knocking on the door.

An old lady opened the door with a bowl of candy and smiled at the twins in delight. "My my, a fairy and Spiderman has come visit me. What would you like?" the lady asked, offering the bowl to them. "But only take five each." She said.

Paige smiled and looked out the street, they still had a few more houses to hit before going home. The streets were filled with groups of kids and high school volunteers who were taking care of them, so Paige was not really too worried about walking home in the dark. But Uncle Ben had set a curfew of ten o'clock for the twins before he and Aunt Millie had set off for their own Halloween party, so Paige had to bring the twins home before then.

The children got their candy and thank the old lady. As they walked down the porch back to the main street, a wave of dizziness and dread hit Paige. Paige collapsed onto the ground as her legs gave up from beneath her.

"Paige, Auntie Paige, are you all right?" Ginny asked worriedly. Both she and Nash looked ready to cry.

Paige lifted her suddenly heavy head and tried to croak out words of reassurance from her dry lips. Her heart was thumping heavily in her chest and she could sense a heavy pressure building up around her. Oh god, Paige thought panting heavily as she tried to find words to reassure the frightened children. Am I having a heart attack? She tried to push herself up but everything was so heavy. Then she saw it, or rather, she sensed it, a wave of darkness was swamping over the streets. Panic filled her as something within her screamed in pain. "Run!" Paige cried. "Get out of here!" She said weakly.

Ginny started sobbing while Nash continued tugging at her trying to get her to stand up. "Aunt Paige! Aunt Paige!" he cried.

Then the wave hit them and Paige only saw darkness.


	2. Chapter 2 : Battle in the Streets

Hi sorry :p i forgot to put this in. The timeline is set after the time Paige's foster parents were killed in the car accident. I've added in some Original Characters like Paige's uncle and cousins whom she is currently visiting, so that I have a convenient excuse to introduce her into Sunnydale.

Thanks for the reviews, you know who you are. :)

Disclaimer : I do not own Charmed or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. These characters are all great works done by their creators. And it will stay that way :p I own nothing and am only writing this story to see how these two worlds will mesh.

* * *

**Chapter Two**

"So what did Mrs. Davis gave you?" Buffy asked cheerily as she led her little group of trick and treat-ers away from the said woman's house and back to the main street.

The forlorn children held up Disney characters toothbrushes. Buffy chuckled, "She must be stopped!" she declared as she turned and head to another house. Another fifteen more minutes and she will be able to leave this little group at the school. Then she'll be able to meet Angel at her house. Buffy smiled as she swished the dress she was wearing. Angel will be so surprised.

"Aunt Paige! Aunt Paige!" A child wailed from behind her. Buffy whirled around and her heart sank as she saw two little children tugging at a girl around her age. The girl was collapsed on the floor and she was trying with great effort to push herself up. Buffy groaned as she silently bemoaned fate. Could not things just for once go on smoothly for her without little bumps along the way? But she could not just ignore the girl, she looked as though she was in great pain.

"Alright follow behind me." Buffy said, leading the frightened children around her back the way they came. Buffy ran towards the girl when suddenly, the young girl pushed herself up from the ground and screamed at the two kids to run away and get out of here. A chill crawled down her spill. _Please let this not be something hell-mouthy_, Buffy plead silently to whatever god is listening.

But apparently the gods were taking the night's off cause her plead went unanswered. As Buffy neared the girl, her slayer senses picked up a huge wave of energy rushing towards her. But it was too late, as the wave consumed her.

Buffy split into half.

* * *

Rogue woke up to chaos. One moment she was in the danger room training with Kurt and Kitty. And then she was… Rogue looked around confusedly as screams and roaring filled the air around her. She appeared to be in some kind of dimly lit street with _things_ chasing each other around. Rogue backed away and bumped into several small bodies. 

"Ow!" Two small voices cried out. "Look where you're going you dim wit!" a young girl's voice snapped angrily.

"Ah am sorry." Rogue said turning around. Her mouth dropped open as she gaped at the angry little girl hovering in front of her face. The wings attached to her back were beating furiously to keep the little girl on face level with Rogue.

"What in the name of moon shine were you thinking!" The little girl shrilled at Rogue. "I happen to be the great fairy enchantress Petaldrops and I do not take kindly to rudeness from humans." Petaldrops said with a pompous sniff.

"Hey, do you mind getting your legs out of my face?" a young voice piped up from below. Rogue looked down and saw a young boy dressed in some kind of spandex costume with a spider on it. He swatted at the two legs hovering in front of his face in irritation. Petaldrops gave a startled squeak as the sudden force spins her around in the air, causing her to crash to the ground.

Peter Parker aka Spiderman grimaced guiltily. "Opps! Too much force." he said, looking up at Rogue, he gaped at her. "Are you a giant?" he asked the girl who was towering over him. She was pretty but a little on the big and tall side. Then he looked down and gasped. "My body! What happened to my body." Peter cried in panic as he took in the puny little arms, small body and short legs. The pretty girl was not tall, it was because he had shrunk!

"I'll body you! You little rascal!" Petaldrops swore from the ground. "How dare you show me such disrespect! I'll turn you into a rat!" She said pointing her wand at Peter.

Rogue decided it was time to intervene. But before she could say anything, a screaming woman crashed into her. And then they were swarmed by a mass of... little demons! Rogue had enough. "Wat is happening here?" Rouge demanded. But only grunts and screams filled the air. Rogue had to duck an attack from a small horned demon and quickly reaches out and physically drags the girl dressed in 17th century costume out of harm's way.

"Save me!" the girl cried, cowering behind Rogue. One of the demons gives a loud roar and pounced in her direction. The girl gave a horrified scream and fainted dead away on the ground. A blast of golden sparkles hit the demon and sent the demon crashing back several paces to the ground.

"Take that you demon!" Petaldrops raged as she flew up in the air and started hurling firelights at the mass of little demons. The fey and the demon kind were sworn enemies and it made Petaldrops' blood boil as she started throwing her magic left and right at the demons who were converging around her. But she knows that it was only a matter of time before she ran out of fairy magic. Truth to be known, she was no fairy enchantress but just a small simple fairy in the Lower courts of the fey kingdom. But she had to say something to keep the humans in their place. She only hoped the humans put up as good a fight as she was going to give.

Peter meanwhile was slugging it up with the three demons that had gang up on him. "Fresh meat." One of them drooled, slashing out with a claw. Peter winced as he ducked and some of the drool splashed onto him.

"Yuck." Peter Parker said, trying to wipe his wet hand. "Don't you guys take personal hygiene lessons?" he asked as he uppercut one of the demon, sending it to dreamland. He whirled around and turned to face the rest of his opponents. There was no time to think about where he is or what had happened to him. He will sort it out later when he gets out of this mess.

Meanwhile Rogue was having trouble fighting and protecting the body of the fainted girl. "You all forced me to this." Rogue said taking off her right glove and quickly darted forward and grabbed one of the demons by hand.

Memories flooded her...

_A brown haired woman seeing him off. "Have fun tonight treat or tricking dear!" She called as she left him with a small group of children._

_Getting candies from people and following big sister around._

_Big sister turned around and Rogue **saw** that she was the girl who had fainted. "What did Mrs. Davis give you?" she asked the group of children around her, him included. He held up a small toothbrush together with the rest of the children._

_Big sister rushing towards a fallen girl. There were also two kids who looked like the fairy and the little boy who were fighting for their lives behind her, and they were crying. "Aunt Paige! Aunt Paige"._

_Then...Blackness... He was floating in a sea of blackness, sleeping. But he got nightmares of becoming a demon and trying to fight and claw at other people._

Rogue snapped back to the present. The demon, no, little boy, she had touch was slumped to the ground. The rest of the demons took a few steps back, stumped by this new development.

"Questidu Flamiond!" The fairy said from behind her. Rogue spin around just in time to see a fire ball building up at the tip of the fairy's wand aiming right at the group of demons.

Rogue quickly jumped in front of the fairy. "Stop!" she called out, "They're just kids."

Petaldrops snorted and continued chanting her spell. Rogue looked desperately around as the demonic kids regained their courage and stepped closer. "Please Petaldrops, they are just little human kids inside, I felt it when I drained the kid's energy. They're possessed somehow."

Petaldrops faltered. It was true that she felt none of the ordinary demonic signature around the little demons surrounding them, but they were under attack and in war, it is to attack first and ask later. She looked into Rogue's pleading eyes and relented, if they were really possessed humans kids, then she must find someway to remove the possession. To the fey, kids were more precious than anything, even human kids.

Petaldrops snuffed out the fire spell. "Cover me," she told Rogue. "I'll try to cast a sleep spell." Rogue nodded with a sigh of relief and turned to face their attackers. Peter Parker having dealt with the rest stepped forward.

"I don't know what is going on around here. But it looks like we're on the same side for now, so I'll help." Peter said. Rogue nodded. She had seen the boy fight. He could hold his own even though he is small in size, probably a mutant of some sort.

Other monstrous looking creatures, attracted by the battle had begun to make their way closer. Rogue swallowed, she just hoped whatever Petaldrops is doing, it will work. Then the demons attacked and all of Rogue's attention was focused on trying to get out of this alive.

* * *

Willow Rosenberg looked confusedly around her. She felt as though she had just been run over by a car. She looked around the empty pouch she was standing on and something hit her. 

"Oh God! Where are my kids?" Willow wailed looking around frantically. Her flailing hands passed through the wall beside her. Willow gasped and tried it again. Her right arm passed through the wall easily, and come to think of it, she was not in her ghost costume anymore and her hands were semi transparent. A flash of white caught her eye and with great dread she looked down.

For a moment, Willow contemplates passing out as she saw her white cloth clad body lying unconscious on the wooden planks. Then her mind took stock of the situation as she noticed her whole body was semi transparent. Added to the fact that she can move through walls, it did not take a genius to realize what had happened to her. "I'm a ghost." Willow whimpered. "Which means I'm dead."

She did not know how long have past before she manage to shake herself out of her fear. "I've got to find Buffy and Xander." Willow decided. "They'll know what to do." She turned to the streets and it was then she realized something very wrong and very hell mouthy was going on, beside her death of course.

There were little demons and god only knows what else running around the place like they own it. "Oh dear." Willow said as realization came to her. Everyone had turned into their costumes.

She looked frantically around. The last she had seen of Buffy and Xander, they were on the same street as she was. She had to find them and tell them what happened. A man in grey robes swinging a sword that suddenly flashed with bright light caught her eyes. Xander, Willow thought giving a sigh of relief as she rushed towards him. Xander had dressed up as some Jedi knight with a toy sword because he couldn't find a light saber. _I hope he still remember who he is._ Willow prayed.

* * *

Arthur Pendragon looked up confusedly from his few thousands years of sleep, Excalibur clenched tightly in his hands. "Is this the awakening?" Arthur asked in wonderment looking around him. The wonderment part lasted for about only a second before some kind of demonic creature launched itself from the darkness at him. 

"Arghh!" King Arthur cried, startled. Years of sleep had not dulled his instinct as he swung Excalibur up to slash at the creature.

_No! Arthur!_ Excalibur cried in his mind. The sword twisted in the air and flared up brightly. The creature was knocked back by the flat of the blade. Crying piteously on the ground as it was temporarily blinded by the bright light.

"What are you doing?" Arthur cried shaking the weapon in disbelief. "That's a demon, we fight demons remember? Or have you gone senile in your old age?" Arthur demanded.

_The nerve!_ Excalibur huffed. _For your information, I have not gone of into the deeps as you have said. I've merely prevented you from taking an innocent life._

"An innocent life?" Arthur looked down at the creature which spotted two horns on its head and a pair of evil looking eyes. "Are we talking about the same demon which just tried to attack me? Because I can't see anything innocent about it." He said sarcastically. Arthur stretched out his leg to prod at the fallen creature just to make sure it is currently incapable of fight.

_It is._ Excalibur insisted. _It is a small child who is currently possessed by a demon and warped heavily in chaos magic._

"What!" Arthur exclaimed, looking down at the creature, no, a child. He trusted Excalibur, even though he may insist otherwise. "Who would do such a thing?"

_And not only to the child._ Excalibur said, Arthur could feel the sword's anger through the mind link they shared. _I can sense many humans around us who are similarly affected._

Arthur looked around him and then noticed the chaos around him. They were standing on some kind of road lit dimly by some tall metal stands. Houses made of wood were around them. And everywhere that he can see, creatures were fighting each other. And according to Excalibur, they were humans turned by some evil magic.

"We've got to stop this." Arthur declared. Excalibur has no time to say anything before a voice piped up from behind him.

"Xander, how did you do that light swishing thing?" Willow asked from behind him.


	3. Chapter 3 : Breaking the Spell

Disclaimer : I do not own Charmed or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. These characters are all great works done by their creators. And it will stay that way :p I own nothing and am only writing this story to see how this two worlds will mesh.

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Arthur Pendragon swung around, bringing his sword up in the traditional defensive stance. He quickly took in the figure behind him and gaped, not because he had never seen ghosts before, but….

"Have you no decency? Surely even the undead need not dress in such a fashion!"

Willow stepped back in shock then glowered fiercely at Xander, to most people she may let the comment go, but not Xander whom she known almost all her entire life.

"Excuse me! But since when have you started having a fashion sense!" Willow huffed angrily, glaring at Xander. "And besides, we have more important things to worry about." Willow swung her ghostly arms to encompass the whole street of rampaging demons. "Everyone has turned into their costumes, from adults to little children, even me! We've got to find Buffy, she'll know what to do."

Arthur looked at the girl in surprised. _She knew! What can you tell me about her?_

_Arthur, she's not really a ghost._ Excalibur said as it quickly scanned the girl in front of them. _Choas magic had force her spirit out of her body, but I can still sense her life force connecting her back to her body. _Arthur sense surprise from Excalibur as it went on. _However she seemed to be fighting off most of the chaos magic with her own strength. She may grow up to be a powerful witch in her own right. We've got to stop whatever spell that is causing this mass change!_

Arthur nodded. He was one of the Knights of the Round Table, it's his duty to stop this madness. But first he have to deal with the young girl first.

"Ah young lady, it is best if you stay where you are for now. This whole area is filled with the force of chaos magic. I will go and find the source and reverse this spell." Arthur said to the young ghost.

Willow blinked. "What do you mean Chaos magic and reverse what spell? Xander, this is something very hellmouthy, we need Buffy's help. Xander... Xander! What are you Argh!" Willow cried out as Xander walked through her and started going down the street towards fifth avenue.

Arthur turned back to give Willow a last look. "I am sorry, but this Xander person is currently not in this body. I am Arthur Pendragon, Knight of the Round Table, and I will do my up most to stop this evil spell."

Willow gaped at Xander's retreating back. "Okk... so Xander has turned into an ancient king... That means Buffy.." She stopped as a horrible thought came to her. "Buffy dressed as a noble lady, oh no!" She whirled around facing the direction she last seen her friend. Then turned to the opposite direction where Xander was headed to. She felt torn as she decides who to stick with. Xander most certainly is not acting Xander like right now and he does seem to be able to take care of himself. On the other hand, if Buffy really turned into a noble woman with no memories of whom she really is ... There will be trouble.

She flew down the road in search of the Slayer but paused as a storm of white glowing lights flew her way. Everyone it touches, even the little demons, collapsed onto the road fast asleep. Willow shivered, something weird was happening, she better find Buffy fast.

Behind her, Arthur smiled as the familiar feeling of fey magic swept over him, it was only his innate resistance to magic that keeps him still standing. One of the fey was here and had cast a sleep spell. At least now he would not have to worry about the children getting hurt. He hurried down the street. Some evil sorcerer is going to meet the end of his fist soon.

* * *

Methos ran down the streets stealthily avoid the demonic looking creatures that were roaming in the streets. He had no idea what had happened, but he had no doubt powerful magic is at foot. He needed to find somewhere safe quickly. 

A sharp headache slammed into him as he stepped into an alley. He looked up to see another immortal leering at him.

"Well, well, who would have guess I will meet another immortal here." The man said swinging his sword in an arc. "I challenge you to a duel here and now."

Methos groaned, he dislike fighting, but if need be, he will do so to save his own head.

"En garde!" Methos said, shifting into a familiar stance.

* * *

Petaldrops looked around her satisfactorily. She may not have much power, but a sleep spell is simple and have a far range. Everyone including the young lady and the young boy were asleep on the ground. Now, she will have to call up the rest of the fey and inform them of what had happened. The Fairy Queen in particular would be enraged at the warped magic that had turned children to demons. She only hopes that the Queen will have some way to reverse the process or they will be in trouble.

* * *

Darkness surrounds her. Rogue shivered as she could not see anything. Then gradually she saw a light in the distance. Moving quickly she ran towards the light and saw a brunette young girl about her age standing forlornly under the light. The girl looked up quickly as she saw Rogue. 

"Who are you?" She asked tensely.

"Ah am Rogue." Rogue replied. "Where is this place? Ah was in a road somewhere and there was demons. Now Ah am here."

The young girl looked at her in surprise. "The same thing happened to me, without the demons part. I am Paige" She walked towards Rogue, the light following her along.

Rogue back away in trepidation. "Who are you! Are you a ghost? Am I dead?"

Paige stared at her in surprise. "Of course you are not dead. And I am 100 percent human. I don't know what's going on, but we have to find some way out of here. My niece and nephew are gone and I need to find them fast. You've got to help me!" Paige said grabbing Rogue's hands.

Rogue tried to snatch her hands away, but it was too late, bare skin against bare skin, Paige and Rogue cried in shock as a huge current of energy rushed through them. Paige tried to retrieve her hands but screamed in horror as she saw her hands disappearing in orbs of white light.

The two girls tried to move out of each other's way in panic, but it was too late, their bodies grew translucent and exploded outwards into orbs of white light.

The darkness shuddered with the dying screams of two girls as the light spread to all corners.

* * *

Petaldrops hummed cheerfully as she arranged the sleeping child demons into the center of the road. It will be easier for the fairy queen to return them to normal if they were all in one place. Occasionally, she will spare a look behind her at the three sleeping figures on the sidewalk, one regally dressed lady, a young boy and the girl who helped her. They were dressed quite oddly, but other then the strange powers the girl and boy possess, they were human, one of the reason why they were not lined out side by side with monsters of all shapes and sizes. There were still quite a lot of unconscious children out there which she had not found. Petaldrops sighed, she was one small fairy afterall. 

A ripple of magic in the air in front of her caused Petaldrops to quickly sink into a curtsey as the Fairy Queen arrived, her entourage following closely behind. Petaldrops looked up, coming face to face with herself. She flew back in shock. "What! How..."

The identical Petaldrops gave a chuckle. "You certainly don't look like me, but your power signature is exactly the same as mine. How strange."

"What are you talking about?" Petaldrops said angrily. "I am the real one."

"I am afraid not my dear child. Your memories and powers were created by chaos magic. Being a fey, the real Petaldrops was immune to the magic. And thus only her conscious was created and placed into your body." The Fairy Queen's voice chimed liltingly. She gazed down at the sleeping figures of the child demons below her and continued angrily. "Whoever had called upon Janus, the God of Choas will pay dearly..." She paused, gazing intently at the three bodies on the sidewalk in the distance. "Who is that girl?"

The fake Petaldrops turned around in confusion at what the Queen had said. "Which one..." what she said was cut off as the girl who had helped her started screaming. She flew forward anxiously only to be restrained by the Queen. It was just as well because the fallen figures were suddenly bathed in an explosion of white light. The purest magic she had ever seen danced in front of her, orbs of white power floating in the air like mating fireflies. All the fey folks stared entranced. Only one word escaped from the Fairy Queen.

"Whitelighter." She breathed.

The lights slowly disappeared, revealing the three human figures who were starting to wake up. The sleep spell on them had been dispelled by the pure power burst.

The Fairy Queen gazed at them musingly. "Lineage of Melinda Warrens and a whitelighter." Her laughter light up the night sky. "It will be a pleasure to watch what becomes of my daughter's children's children."

She waved a hand at the little demons, sparks of light burst from her hands, countering the spell on them. Then she turned to the fake Petaldrops. "Its time for you to return to the way you should." Light enveloped the fairy, turning her back to an unconscious human girl in a fairy costume.

"Come its time we go." The Fairy Queen said, opening a portal in front of her. She gave one last look at the little girl on the ground and smile. "Perhaps a little gift." She said. A spark of light touched the girl's forehead as the fairies disappeared, leaving only peace and the sound of waking children.

* * *

"Now you die!" the immortal say as he plunged his sword into Methos' heart. Methos gave a weak gasp as he collapsed weakly, his sword slipping out of his hand. 

The immortal pulled out his sword and aim for Methos head. Methos closed his eyes as the end flashed before him. The wound in his chest was already beginning to heal, but it will be too late to retaliate.

The sword swing down for his head.

* * *

Arthur Pendragon kicked opened the door to the store and stormed through the display of goods, intent on only one thing. 

_It's inside that room._ Excalibur said.

Ethan Rayne looked up in shock as a young man bearing a sharp gleaming board sword burst into the back of his shop.

"Who the hell are you?" Ethan asked weakly, backing away.

Arthur glared at Ethan. "So you are the chaos mage. Its time you have a little nap."

Ethan gave a squeak and tried to run away but the flat side of Excalibur sent him crashing down onto the ground unconscious.

Arthur turned and faced the statue of Janus. Now that he was right beside it, he could pick up the strong outpouring of chaos magic from the statue. With a decisive stroke, he slashed the statue in half.

The spell broke with a tangible snap.

Xander gave a cry of alarm as he let go of Excalibur, dropping it onto the floor. He turned around and cried out in fright as he saw the unconscious body of the Halloween costume shop owner.

"Oh God have I been sleep walking?" Xander moaned to himself.

_I believe something had gone wrong. I am still here._ Excalibur said.

Xander gaped at the sword.

* * *

Down in a magic lake, in a magic underground cave. A toy sword was stuck underwater in a rock.

* * *

Jonathon gave a cry of horror as he stared at the bloody young man in front of him. His own shirt was also soaked with blood, but his attention was held by the bursts of lightning that danced around the young man's chest. There was a sizzling sound as if the lightning had ran out of battery and the chest wound on the young man began to pull close. The young man gave a weak cough and then flopped back onto the ground unconscious. 

For a moment, Jonathon froze in fright. Then he leaped into the streets, screaming.

* * *


	4. Chapter 4 : Halloween Night Ends

Disclaimer : I do not own Charmed or Buffy the Vampire Slayer or X-men or Highlander. These characters are all great works done by their creators. And it will stay that way :p I own nothing and am only writing this story to see how these worlds will mesh.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Halloween night ended in pure chaos. Sunnydale's police had came, _after_ everyone had came to their senses. There was a huge hue and cry going on in the streets long after the police had evacuated everyone off the whole 2nd, 3rd and 4th Avenues.

The gas company was called in to check out the sewers as based on the assumption of the "ingenuous" Sunnydale police force, there was supposedly a major gas leak going on in that area. Two kids were sent to the hospital for major injuries, seven had minor cuts and bruises, and all have a bad memory of Halloween for years to come. But to the residential Scooby Gang of Sunnydale, it could have been much much worse. At least no one was killed.

It was two hour later, after herding the hysterical children back to school to their waiting parents, listening to a fire and brimstone speech by Principal Snyder about detention for students with injured children and one month's worth of garbage cleaning duty for students who ARE MISSING IN ACTION, namely two certain individuals Owen Thurman and Xander Harris. The last comment was directed mostly at Buffy and Willow who had bought Xander's charges and their own back after failing to find Xander anywhere.

The speech was cut short by the arrival of reporters who came to interview Principal Snyder about his views of the events for the Morning News. "It is an unfortunate incident to all involve..." Principal Snyder's said with an uncharacteristic empathy as he turned to the reporters. The gathered students quickly slipped away.

Buffy strode purposefully towards the library with a worried Willow tagging closely behind her. "Oh what should we do? Xander's missing, we've got to find him. What if he's in trouble somewhere?" Willow babbled anxiously.

"Don't worry Willow, we'll find him, we need to get to Giles first. He'll know what has happened." Buffy said. "And from what you told me, Xander became King Arthur. I think an ancient warrior king will handle himself quite well." She pushed open the library door and paused as she saw a very pale Xander and a pinch-faced Giles.

"Xander what happened, we were worried about you!" Willow burst out, running towards her best friend.

Xander gave a weak smile to Willow, it was Giles who answered. "I believe you have all heard of the Arthorian legends. It appears that Xander is now the new wielder of Excalibur." He pointed to the jeweled broadsword lying on the table. Xander gave the girls a pained look.

"What!" Willow said. Buffy just looked at Giles blankly.

_I believe I should introduce myself._ A voice spoke telepathically to everyone. _I am Excalibur and I am pleased to meet the warriors of light, Slayer and... friends.._

Willow stared at the sword. "Oh gods, a talking sword."

"And not just any sword," Giles said in a harassed voice. "That's the Excalibur in the mythology, supposedly a very powerful weapon against darkness." He sighed. "Excalibur had explained everything to me as Xander, and I gathered, the rest of you would not have any memories of what had happened. He told me ..."

"But we remembered everything." Willow cut in. "I remembered everything about what happened. Something changed us into our costumes. Buffy also remembers." Willow glanced at Buffy. She was a bit subdued, not quite herself. Buffy must have caught the look because she quickly perked up.

"Yeah, the memory is still fresh in my mind." Buffy said.

Giles looked at the two of them in surprise. "You were both under the chaos spell, from what I know of such magic, even when the spell was broken, the ones under the spell should have no memories of what had happened except at a very deep subconscious level."

The two girls gave an uncomfortable shrug as everyone turned their attention towards them.

_Perhaps they are both strongly resistance to magic._ The voice, Excalibur, said in their minds. _One is after all a Slayer and each slayer is supposedly possessing a special gift different from another slayer. The other girl,_ Excalibur said directing his comments at Willow. _She possesses a great amount of magical talent. It is not difficult to imagine she would be able to fight off the spell._

"But I am just an ordinary girl." Willow said in surprise. "Buffy is the one that's special."

"Apparently not anymore." Giles mumbled polishing his glasses. "Since the two of you remembered what happened, then it makes it easier to tell you the full story. There was a chaos mage in town. Unfortunately, he had disappeared by the time Xander got me and we returned to his shop. He enchanted everyone into their costumes and the spell only ended when Xander who went as King Arthur ended the spell by confronting the chaos mage."

Buffy smiled at Xander. "I always knew you have it in you."

"Erm thanks... Even though I don't really remember what had happened." Xander said a bit confusedly. The memories of the night were still a blank to him. But the smile Buffy gave him warmed his heart.

"So everything went well right? I heard from the paramedics that no one had died." Willow said when Giles still looked particularly worried.

"Not exactly." Giles said. "We need to make a trip to return Excalibur back to where it belongs. Somehow, when the spell ended, Excalibur remained behind."

_A joke of Janus, that stupid chaos god no doubt._ Excalibur fumed. _He has been after me ever since I slew his conclave of worshipers in England. _

"Ahhh... Wow, I didn't know a sword was on talking relationships with the Gods." Buffy said looking at the broadsword on the library table. Somehow, it gives her the chills when it talks in her mind.

Excalibur sniffed. _The day I talk to Janus is the day I cut his butt._

The scooby gang glanced at each other in uncomfortable silence.

"So how do we send Excalibur home?" Willow asked into the silence.

"Well the lake that guards Excalibur is in England, however that trip by plane will take too long. Excalibur, it seems has many powerful enemies that will come after it and its current bearer once news got out that it had left the protection of the lake." Giles said rubbing his forehead.

"I am not surprised." Xander grumbled from the side. "My luck has always been bad, even when i have a magic sword."

"However apparently there's a magic portal to another dimension that can lead us to the lake, in the outskirts of Sunnydale. Xander and I will be making our way there immediately, every minute Xander is linked to that sword is a danger to Xander." Giles added.

_I will be in danger too._ Excalibur said with a mental shudder. _Demons of all shapes and sizes will be after me once it got out that I am currently linked to an incompetent bearer._

"Hey!" Xander said in protest.

"Hey that's no way to talk about Xander." Buffy said, hugging Xander. "We are the only ones that can talk like that to him."

Xander glare at Buffy. "What's that suppose to mean?"

Next to them Willow giggled.

"Buffy, we need you to come along for Xander's protection just in case demons really come after us." Giles said. "Willow, go home and have a rest, I am sure you have a tiring night. There's no reason for you to come along."

"No," Willow protested giving Giles a resolute look. "Xander's my best buddy. I'll be coming too. I can use a crossbow and stake."

Giles sighed. "Alright, everyone, call your parents, go home and change out of those hideous costumes. Meet outside the library in an hour's time."

He went inside the storeroom and took out a small sword and a crossbow. Then Giles turned to Xander, motioning him to pick up Excalibur. "Just in case, I'll take you back to your house. Come on let's go."

The scooby gang quickly made their way out. The night's still young and everything that can go wrong will still go wrong. Giles prayed silently that they will have a safe and peaceful trip for once.

* * *

Rogue/ Paige struggled and collapsed onto the bed after making sure the door to the guest room was locked. She does not want anyone to hear her crying as what really happened hit her. She's still Paige, but one part of her bears Rogue's living memories, at least up to the time when she disappeared from the danger room to… this world. 

But Paige knows Rogue could not be real, her memories could not be real because she had read the comics about the X-men before, they are all fiction, they do not exist. Paige cried weakly, but what could have really happened? The police who had sent her and her cousins home said that there was a gas leak which had caused the mass hallucination and sleepiness of everyone.

Paige shuddered. But that explanation had not explained the memories she had gotten when she had touched her five year old cousin Ginny. She had flashes of Ginny's personal memories and something else that she could not identify. The memories and weird feelings had faded by the time she reached Uncle Ben's house.

She had been surprised to see Ginny well and fine. From Rogue's memories, no one could withstand a single touch of her bare skin. But it seems that the power Paige possesses is a diluted version, she only got other people's memories, and not suck up their life force.

The journey home had been a silent one as Paige tried to avoid skin contact with anyone else. It was fortunate Nash was clad head to toe in his Spiderman outfit. Paige had arranged for him to sit in the middle so she could not touch Ginny by accident. Both had no memories of what had happened though Nash was unusually silent.

"What am I? Who am I?" Paige asked confusedly as she lay on bed. Tomorrow she would have to leave Sunnydale and go back to her university in Los Angeles. Maybe she will wake up and find everything was a bad dream.

* * *

Nash Matthews hang upside down from the ceiling as memories of the night ran through his little brain. Though he is still a five year old kid, he now had the maturity of Peter Parker, and also the commitment to keep the world a safer place. With a resolute face, he glances at the upside down moon shining through the window. 

"Tomorrow I will begin my patrol." He vowed.

* * *

"Are you positive?" the Source asked. The seer of the underworld nodded beside him. 

"I have seen it. Excalibur had left its watery protection and is now in Sunnydale. It is now linked to a Xander Harris, friend of the current living Slayer. Now will be a good time to turn Excalibur's powers to your own. Its current bearer will be unable to withstand your might." The seer chuckled in anticipation.

"A Slayer hmmm..." the Source said. "I have left them alone because they are like mosquitoes, and they do reed out those that are not strong enough to live in this world. Only the strong will live after all. She would not be a problem to me. Send two of the minotaurs here, I am going to pay a visit to an _old_ friend."

* * *

Penelope Halliwell known adoringly as "Grams" to her grandchildren was raising hell in the Sanctuary with her daughter, Patty Halliwell. 

"Let us go down to her now." Grams demanded. Her eyes glaring holes at the whitelighters blocking her way.

"Penelope." One of the elders spoke up. "You and your daughter are already dead. It is by a special request from Melinda Warren that the souls of her lineage can chose to stay on at the Sanctuary after their deaths to watch over your descendants. The clause was that you can only return to the living world when called." He sniffed as he glared at the two stubborn spirits in front of him. "The fact that you had hidden the news of another daughter born of a union from a whitelighter is ..."

"No matter to you at all." Grams said glaring at the whitelighters. "That girl down there is a Halliwell, we most certainly do not have to report to you every time we give birth!"

Some of the new whitelighters stepped back uneasily at Penny and Patty's fierce glares.

"Let me through to my daughter, she needs me now!" Patty demanded.

"After abandoning her for so many years? Now you claim her?" Another elder said. Patty stepped back, her face in pain.

If looks could kill, the glare Grams sent the elder would have dissolved him into white cotton puffs. "You wait and see. I'll call on the spirits of my family past, then we shall have a reckoning!" she retorted, leaving with her daughter.

"Was that wise?" one of the whitelighters asked uneasily.

The elder sighed. "Wise or not, those are the rules and we have to abide by them" he turned to another whitelighter. "Leo, I want you to go down and keep an eye on this newest Halliwell. Four Halliwell women in this generation of prophecy, it does not bode well for the world."

"What do you mean?" Leo asked.

"The Halliwell are this world's chosen champions. For four to be born, there will be some great evil going down in the future." The elder sighed. "We can only watch and see."

* * *

Owen Thurmen stared confusedly around him as he woke up. What had happened? One moment he was dressed as Methos from the Highlander Tv series. The next moment he was lying asleep in the hospital. He looked around the sparse hospital room and fall back to sleep. Somewhere in the hospital rubbish bins was his blood soaked costume. 


	5. Chapter 5 : Pilgramage to the Cave

Disclaimer : I do not own Charmed or Buffy the Vampire Slayer or SG-1. These characters are all great works done by their creators. And it will stay that way :p I own nothing and am only writing this story to see how these worlds will mesh.

Note: Sorry for the delay, Chap5 is up and I have also freshen up the previous four chapters. Thanks for reading my story, but my grammar and vocabulary are not that good so if you guys see any errors and have some time, I'll appreciated if you can email me and tell me where I have structured the sentence wrongly. :D Thanks a lot!

* * *

**Chapter Five**

"So it has been done." Elder Ralph said glancing at the woman beside him. She was bath in a fiery red glow, the mark of one of the ascended.

Oma Desala nodded. "The sword remained bonded to the child. If the future holds true, that young man will learn to wield Excalibur and prevent the destruction the seers had foreseen."

"Good." Elder Ralph said, a troubled frown on his face. "Unfortunately things had become complicated. A young woman, descendant of the Halliwell line came into power during the chaos spell. She had created some unexpected problems. None of the elders had known of her existence up till now."

"What kind of problems?" Oma asked. After they had seen the terrible future ahead for the world, the two of them had spent years finding a way to prepare for the inevitable. She cannot allow their efforts to go to waste, the world will not survive if the plan failed.

"Paige Halliwell managed to dispel the chaos spell from her cousin, the current slayer and herself. However due to her inexperience, the effects of the chaos magic remained. Those three still bears the powers and memories of who they dressed as."

Oma frowned. "The slayer's loyalty lies with the light. And the Halliwell women had been champions of good for decades. I am sure it is no hard thing to sway the younger cousin to fight for the light."

"And therein lies the problem. Because of the over balance in power, for the first time in decades, chaos had chosen a champion. An immortal champion, one who will never die. And I have a feeling we are not the only one meddling to change the future." Elder Ralph said. "That Paige Matthews was in Sunnydale during the spell may mean a greater power may be trying to interfere secretly."

"But seeing that Paige Matthews is a Halliwell, does not that mean a Power of Good may also be acting in this world's best interest?"

"But our plans may clash with this invisible ally. Like tonight, creating an overbalance of power."

Oma sighed, the implication was dire. "Surely the over balance in power is not so great? They are only three children after all."

"You have forgotten about Excalibur who is also a champion of light now bonded to Xander Harris. Together they may be a force to be reckoned with." Elder Ralph said. "We will need to move cautiously to ensure our efforts are not in vain and we did not release a greater evil. There is no telling how that Chaos' chosen one will move. He may align himself with good or evil as is always the way of chaos."

"Perhaps I should go down again to ensure all goes well." Oma said.

Elder Ralph shook his head. "No, the elders and other powers are watching over those five young people closely now. To interfere now will draw attention to us. We have already broken the law by meddling with the mortals. We can't risk being found out."

Oma nodded. "Very well elder, we can only watch and see. But should anything happens, I will have to interfere once again."

* * *

Night turned to dawn as the four of them trek through the woods in the outskirts of Sunnydale. Xander gave a tired yawn. They had no time to rest, as Excalibur had kept harping on in their heads, the quicker it, he, returns home, the safer it will be for everyone involved. 

Apparently, there was something called a ley node that was located a few miles from Sunnydale. According to Giles, it is a convergence of mystical energies that will enable Excalibur to cast a teleportation spell to bring them back to Excalibur's cave.

Xander sighed, sometimes he wish he was someone special like Buffy, or even Willow, who was top scholar and apparently now a potential witch. It's true that he was linked to Excalibur now and is the only one that can lift up the freaking sword. But the sword had made it plain to him that he was not King Arthur material, it fact, from the snipe comments Excalibur had made, it thinks that Xander is far from worthy of being its bearer. He got that kind of snubbing a lot from Cordelia and her gang. He had always tried to cover up his hurt with a goofy smile, but truth is, Xander felt very depressed at the moment.

"What are you thinking about?" Willow asked softly beside him. The scooby gang had set out armed to the teeth with crossbows and swords. Usually someone will be making a laugh at the apocalypse joke, but it had been a long day or rather, a long night, and everyone was tired and weary.

"Nothing special." Xander said forcing out a smile. He shifted the sword in his hands and moved forward. "Excalibur, are we nearing the place yet?"

_Nearly, but not yet. The entrance to the portal lies in a clearing in the west._ Excalibur's voice resounded in their heads.

"I'm tired, cold and grumpy." Buffy moaned next to them.

Willow nodded understandingly. "Not having your regular beauty sleep can do that to a person."

Giles sighed. "Children, please keep your mind on the problem here." He paused as they stepped into a small clearing ringed with trees.

_Great this is it._ Excalibur said with considerable relief. _Now Xander, I need you to open your mind to me. I need to synch my energy to yours._

"How do I do that? Is it those meditation things Buffy always do?"

_I have no idea what you are talking about. Just keep your mind blank and not think of anything._ Excalibur said with a long suffering sigh. Xander could virtually hear the word "_fool_" attached to the end of the sentence.

"Taking deep breaths might help." Buffy offered helpfully as she lean against a tree. She sprung up suddenly, brushing at her clothes as she gave a yelp. "Yikes, there are ants here!"

Giles rolled his eyes and muttered something about Americans. He waved at Xander to take the lead and step into the clearing. Carrying the sword wearily into the center of the clearing, Xander let the tip of the sword touched the ground as he closed his eyes and tried to think of nothing.

"I think I feel something… It might be stomach related ..." Xander said as his stomach growled. They had not had any food since dinner.

Willow giggled as Giles groaned.

"Xander please concentrate, I have no wish to spend my weekends out in the woods."

_Quite rightly._ Excalibur gritted out. _I rather long for my cave right now._

An image of a vast cavern flashed in everyone's mind.

Xander closed his eyes and try concentrating again. There was a whisper of sound and he heard Willow screamed. He quickly opened his eyes and saw a dark cloaked figure in front of him and what looked like minotaurs beside the demon.

_Oh no.._ Excalibur said with dread.

Xander brought up Excalibur, slashing at the minotaur nearest to him. Excalibur cut through the demon like a knife on butter. The minotaur let out a scream as it fell to the ground twitching in death trolls.

An energy blast sent Xander crashing into the tree behind him, Excalibur flying out of his hands onto the ground. Xander groaned painfully, trying to open his eyes, Buffy, Giles and Willow are fighting against the second minotaur while the dark cloaked demon walked towards him.

The demon paused next to Excalibur for a moment. "So we meet again Excalibur." He said. He reached for the sword but his hands seemed to slide off Excalibur every time he tried to grasp it. "Ah.. so the protection still holds. A pity then, I'll have to do it another way." He walked towards Xander.

Excalibur hissed. _I will never let you have me. Xander stand up and fight now, you must not give in to him!_

Xander groaned painfully, pushing himself back to his feet. The demon pushed him back to the ground sinking his talons into Xander's head.

"You will be mine Excalibur." The Source chuckled.

* * *

Xander blinked, one moment he was in the woods, and then he was standing in a red desert land, a red sun blazing down on him. There was an overwhelming sensation of heat as Xander collapsed onto the hot sand. He felt as if his life was getting sucked out of him. 

Xander groaned, trying to see in the distance. The shimmering mist of heat was everywhere around him and they were closing in on him. He cannot breathe, he cannot move. All he can do is writhe silently in pain trying to hold on to his life.

* * *

Excalibur tried unsuccessfully to enter Xander's mind, but the Source's mind probe has all but shut him out, leaving him unable to be of any assistance to the young man. For the first time, Excalibur felt a bit of fear and dread in its soul. If Xander should fall, the Source will encroach on the mystical link between the two of them and take Excalibur's powers by force.

* * *

_Child, can you hear me?_

"What? Who is that?" Xander rasped through dry lips. He tried to open his swelling eyes to no avail.

_Child, this is a mind probe, you must fight it._ The feminine voice whispered in his head.

"How?" Xander gave a strangled sob, he had never felt such pain in his life.

_You are trapped in your own mind. Your mind is yours, turn it against the one who wishes to use it against you. You are of my blood, you can do it._

For a moment, a calm cooling strength filled Xander's heart. Gritting his teeth, Xander pushed himself up, his arms bleeding from cuts made by the sand. An enormous pressure tried to push him down but he fought it off. In the distance, he thought he could hear the howling of a hyena.

"This is my mind. I just need to change my thoughts." Xander rasped. Veins stood out in his head as he closed his eyes in concentration. The air around him cooled. Slowly, a blue mist spread outwards from him.

Dark withered forms lashed out of the sand trying to latch onto Xander, but the blue mist buffered them off.

_Go Child, let lose your might..._

The mist expelled outwards, dispelling the desert landscape.

…_.And forget everything about our conversation._

* * *

The Source cried out in pain as the backlash of a counter mind probe struck his head. In front of him, the young man awakens with a growl and barreled into him, sending him flying a few feet away. 

The young man quickly ran and picked up Excalibur, pointing it at him. The Source looked at the other end of the clearing where the slayer was just finishing up, cutting his minotaur servant into pieces.

"It ends here." The bearer of Excalibur said, slashing it down at him.

With a growl, the Source shimmered back to the underworld. The odds were against him now.

* * *

Excalibur looked at Xander in surprise as the young man fought free of the Source's mind probe on his own. With his senses, he checked his bearers to ensure that the young man was in no ways tainted. Normal humans would not have been able to attempt such a feat without magical assistance. The Source was old and powerful, that this young man had fought the mental grip on his own was nothing short of a surprise. 

Excalibur could sense no sudden awakening of a magical talent that could had aided the young man. In fact, now that he had bothered to check, the young man had next to no magical aptitude, something he had not seen for a very long time. Humans mostly have a spark of magic in them, the spark of magical ability in Xander was so faint as if it was none existence. As if something was suppressing it.

Excalibur mused, he had only seen this happening in a few mortals in his lifetime, and some of them are not totally human. Perhaps there might be more to this young man than he had expected. If so, plans will need to change.

* * *

Buffy ran worriedly towards Xander who was looking decidedly pale, sword in his hand. Buffy's own sword was dripping with the blood from the fallen minotaur. Her face was sporting a bruise where she had been hit. 

"Xander, are you ok? The other demon went after you, but we were so busy fighting the other demon that we couldn't get to you in time."

"It's a minotaur Buffy." Giles said, putting away his crossbow and helping Willow out of a hedge she had fallen in.

"Well, whatever." Buffy said, turning back to Xander, checking him for injuries. His head was bleeding from cuts but the amazing thing was they were healing before her very eyes. "Wow, I didn't know Xander can heal that fast." She said staring transfixed at the deep cuts that were closing.

_I am afraid that's my doing. I have the ability to heal my bearer._ Excalibur said.

"Oh that's like super cool." Willow said brushing leaves from her hair. Buffy had been the one taking the blunt of the damage during the attack, but Willow was still shaken.

"I'm just glad, you're not hurt." Xander said, looking at Willow and Buffy in relief. He frowned. There was something, a whisper of memory that he could not seem to remember.

"So how did you fight off that demon, I have never seen the type before." Giles said.

_That demon was the Source, lord of all demons in the underworld._ Excalibur said dryly. _He was trying to weaken Xander's mind with a mind probe and I too would like to know how you fight it off._

"Good lord, the lord of the underworld." Giles said weakly.

"Well he couldn't be too powerful cause Xander had scare him away." Buffy said thumping Xander on the back. "Anyway, that's a job well done."

Xander grinned. "Actually I can't remember anything, just that he sinks his claws into my head and I couldn't move. But after a while I must have managed to fight it off and the first thing I did was to retrieve Excalibur." He looked down at the sword. "I think that demon is more afraid of Excalibur than me."

Giles shrugged. "No matter, the important thing now is for Xander to return the sword back to where it belongs. I wouldn't want anymore demons paying us visits."

_Well... _Excalibur begun hesitantly but was cut in by Buffy.

"That's a great idea, come on sword. Take us to your home so we can return you." Buffy said.

There was a sigh as if Excalibur was deep in thought. _Xander, Stand in the clearing, I'll project to you the location and teleport you there. With your help of course._

"Ok." Xander say, moving back into the clearing, standing in a sea of calm. He saw a picture of a vast cavern filled with riches beyond his imagination. For the first time, Xander felt a connection to the sword, linking him into the ley node underneath them.

_Stand closer everyone._ Excalibur said.

Xander felt a twisting sensation in his head as Excalibur manipulates the power of the node sending them all thousands of miles away from their location. In the clearing, there was a brief flare of white light as the four humans were teleported, the ley node in the area depleted of power for centuries to come.

* * *

"That was a risk Oma." Elder Ralph said looking down in his viewing globe which shows images of the four would be champions of light. 

"A risk I am willing to take, I cannot allow the Source to ruin our plans." Oma sighed. "The sword still plans to bring Xander back to the cave. If it really plans to sever the bonds between it and its bearer, I may have to make an appearance once again."

"And so risk everything?" Elder Ralph demanded.

"I will risk only myself, you will still remain to manipulate from the shadows." Oma said. "You know what the severance of such a bond means. I cannot allow the young man to pay the price for our interference."

Elder Ralph sighed. "A foolish decision, but understandable. After all, he is one of the few left of your mortal bloodline. The blood of the Ancients."

* * *


	6. Chapter 6 : The Seven Keys

Disclaimer : I do not own Charmed or Buffy the Vampire Slayer or SG-1. These characters are all great works done by their creators. And it will stay that way :p I own nothing and am only writing this story to see how these worlds will mesh.

Note: Chapter6 is a bit long and wordy because I have to explain a few plot turners, sorry about that, I've tried to cut everything down as much as I can. SG-1 will make an appearance in later chapters, and there will be a LOTR plot soon after that. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Six**

There was a brief distortion in space as Giles, Buffy, Xander and Willow reappeared from the clearing in Sunnydale into a dimly lit cavern. It was the size of ten football fields and statues, gold, weapons and other stuff filled the cave. The four gaped in astonishment trying to catch their breath.

A heap of glittering gemstones were piled at a corner and heaps of gold bars stacked in a neat row beside it. Armors and weapons were arranged in a neat pile near the entrance of the cave. At the back of the cave were shelves of unknown artifacts, and in the center was a giant rock with a toy sword stuck halfway in it.

The rock was giving off a soft glow, illuminating the cave. And on the left side of the cave was a huge metal door leading to somewhere else that was locked and bared. Through his connection with Excalibur, Xander picked up a sense of sadness and duty, and images of hundreds of men in the cavern beyond the door, trapped in a spelled sleep.

_King Arthur sleeps next door._ Xander realized with awe.

"Wow." Xander said, feeling stunned as he stared at the knowledge and the riches before him.

"Look at those jewels and gold. It's like a pirate's cave."

"And those weapons and armors, you can outfit an army here."

Giles gave a quiet cough as Willow and Buffy began talking at once. "Children, please calm down. Remember our purpose here and that these treasures don't belong to us."

"But couldn't we like take one or two of those gemstones? They look so pretty." Buffy turned to Excalibur who was in Xander's hands. "How about it Excalibur? Think of it as a little payment for getting you home." Buffy coaxed as she eye the jewels and weapons covertly.

There was a mental laugh in their heads. _You may take a few._ Excalibur said. _But first, Xander go to the back of the cave, there are some things that I want to make sure._

Xander walked to the back, leaving Buffy and Willow to choose their gems while Giles followed Xander.

_Touch the silver cube on the middle row._

Xander looked around and saw a small metal cube with five colored crystals embedded each of the sides that fit the description. Reaching out his free hand, he touched it. There was a surge of static energy running through his veins as the cube lit up emitting a series of sounds that seems to be a foreign language. Xander drop the cube back onto the shelf.

"What was that all about?" Xander asked.

Excalibur sighed. _**Welcome people of the Ancients.** That's what the box said. _Excalibur paused for a moment. _My suspicions are right, you do bear the ancient's bloodline. _Excalibur said, a barrage emotion of pride and hope was directed Xander's way.

"What are the Ancients? And what do you mean about Xander's blood stuff?" Buffy asked curiously as she and Willow made their way towards Xander, attracted by the weird noises. Their hands clasped handful of jewels and gems that they were in the process of choosing.

_Millions of years ago, before human life on Earth, Earth was inhabited by alien life forms called the Ancients._ Excalibur said. _Xander bears the blood of that old race._

Xander gaped at the sword. "You've got to be shitting me, are you telling me I am part alien and that there are actually aliens out there?"

"That's impossible!" Giles sputtered. "Aliens are a myth, there has been no official record of their existence!"

_Like the vampires are a myth too? And the vampire slayer, is she not real?_ Excalibur said humorously. _I have seen aliens from other planets during the time I was with Arthur. I have shed their blood and help them. Aliens are just as real as the demons that lurk in the darkness, in fact they were the first to survive on this planet aside from the demons. _

Giles and Willow just stared at Xander as if they have never seen him before. Buffy started chuckling.

"And I thought Xander was the most normal one out of all of us!" Buffy said with a resigned chuckle. "So do the rest of us also possess those alien's blood or is it just Xander?" She paused and frowned as a thought struck her. "That blood is not going to hurt Xander is it? He's not going to turn into something big and evil that I'll have to slay right?"

"Buffy!! Do I look evil to you?" Xander gaped at Buffy. "I feel perfectly fine, no evil in this Xander, no way."

There was a mental chuckle from Excalibur. _No, he is not going to turn evil, the ancients are a humanoid race with almost the same identical physical makeup like yours. Their race like the humans have their own good and bad peoples. Overall they are a peaceful race that cultivates civilizations._

"That's good." Willow said managing to slip her jewel laden hands around Xander's arm, giving him a hug. "Xander's our best friend, I wouldn't want Buffy to slay him."

"Hey." Xander said, leaning on Willow good naturedly.

_Its good to know the Ancients have not died out yet, after Sir Lancelot of the round table was sent to undergo the Great Sleep, I have not met another with the blood of that old race._ Excalibur said. The scoobys could feel the joy emitting from the sword. Excalibur's attitude towards Xander had changed after the battle with the demon known as the Source. Everyone present could feel the change.

"That's fascinating, an alien race living on Earth and no one knows of it." Giles breathed. "But how do you find out Xander possesses the blood and what does it do?"

Years on the hellmouth had thought him caution and suspicion at anything not normal and Giles was not going to let any of his charges be dragged into unexpected danger again.

_I first suspected when Xander was able to overcome the Source's mind probe. And he confirmed it when he touched the silver cube, which will only be activated by those with Ancients' blood._ Excalibur said. Xander got the distinct impression that the sword was very proud of him. _What little I know of the Ancients came from Sir Lancelot who came from the direct line of ancients. _

_The Ancients as a whole are strongly immune towards magic and rely strongly on their technology which are activated by those of their blood and mental abilities, one of the reason they were able to survive on this planet for so long. In fact the human race on Earth was later carefully bred by the Ancients to be able to fight against these creatures of the dark._

"Are you telling me we were some kind of experiment by these Ancients creatures?" Willow said shocked. She could virtually feel what she knew of human evolution unraveling in her brain. Buffy and Xander looked very disturbed, and Giles have that oh dear look in his eyes.

_In a way, yes. _Excalibur said. _When the humans were first brought onto this planet, most were unable to survive against the powers of the demons. The ancients gave the human race a fighting chance. A few of the humans gained the power to manipulate the mystic forces through the intervention of the Ancients, and thus begun the birth of the guardians, witches, and other humans with abilities who later fight against the demon race._

"That is amazing." Giles said. "You have virtually outlined the history when humans first began to manipulate magic. The Ancients it seemed are powerful beings."

That was a startled silence from Excalibur as it took in what Giles said before it continued sadly. _The Ancients saved the humans but doomed their own race. Through the hybrid of humans who were able to manipulate magic, a magical disease spread from humans to demons to Ancients. Though it caused relatively small damage to the humans, it wreaked havoc on the demons and Ancients population. _

_It resulted in the great plague that sent many Ancients to their deaths. The Ancients being unable to manipulate the forces of magic themselves fight a losing battle, even their high resistance to magic could not save them and in the end they had to flee Earth to save their own kind. _

_Through the centuries, a few returned and it was said by Lancelot, that his forefathers who were pure blooded Ancients, were scattered throughout the galaxies, on the run from vicious enemies from which the Ancients later encountered. _Excalibur sighed. _It was believed that most of the Ancients were dead through the magical plague and also the battle against their alien enemies. Those few that stayed on earth were absorbed into the human bloodlines and disappeared totally, resulting in children like Xander._

"So, from what you say, these Ancients guys aren't really that bad at all." Willow said sadly. "There's nothing for us to be worried about."

"And Xander is the last of his kind." Buffy said looking at him with something close to awe. "You do understand what that means right Xander? You'll have to reproduce fast or your line will die out!"

"Aww.. Buffy, cut it out." Xander said. His mind still half in shock trying to absorb this knowledge Excalibur had given him. But first and foremost in his mind, a phrase was looping and looping inside his head. _I am someone special._ He thought. The pain all these years at being called a geek and sometimes a zeppo by his classmates fades away now that he knows he is someone special. He may not have super human powers, but he was a descendant of a great race, a race that gave humans a fighting chance.

_Buffy, Willow and Giles, I'll like all of you to try touching the cube to see if it responds to you._ Excalibur said.

"Wow, you think we are part aliens too?" Willow asked reaching out eagerly for the cube. Nothing happened and she frowned in concentration, clutching the cube tighter. "Nothing." she said with a disappointed sigh, passing the cube to Buffy who then pass to Giles when the cube remains unlit. Giles gave a sigh of relief as nothing happens when he touches it, putting it back onto the shelf.

"Now that we have satisfied your curiosity what do we do now?" Giles asked.

_I wish to go back with you._ Excalibur said.

Everyone look at the sword in surprise.

"Are you saying we came all the way here just to take you back with us?" Buffy asked with no small irritation. "I thought the whole point of bringing you back here was to stick you back into your stone and let Xander be the ex-bearer of you."

_I am afraid things are not so easy._ Excalibur said uneasily. _To sever the bond between the bearer and me requires me to destroy the bearer's mind. Something I am not inclined to do now._

"And you are telling us now!" Giles shouted in shock.

"What do you mean something you are not inclined to do now?" Xander asked, and then something in his mind clicked. He let go of Excalibur, letting it fall onto the floor with a dull thud. "That's what you initially planned to do from the start isn't it? You planned to wipe my mind out when we bring you back."

Willow gasped in shock and Buffy just glare angrily at the sword.

"You changed your mind now because you found out that I am part of a dying race. Some alien race." Xander said dully.

_That is not true._ Excalibur said. _I changed my mind because I found you strong enough to bear me._

"How can you do that." Buffy hissed. "How can you make use of us?" She grabbed Xander's lifeless hands. "Xander let's go, we'll just leave that rotten thing here and go back ourselves."

_I'm afraid that will be impossible._ Excalibur said. _If the bond between me and Xander remains un-severed he will remain the target of powerful demons and the Source. He'll need me along if he wants to protect himself._

"Well I don't care." Buffy shouted. "I'll protect Xander, and I wouldn't let you near him!"

Giles pinched his forehead as a headache began to form. "Buffy, I admire your loyalty to your friends. But perhaps it is best to hear Excalibur out before we place judgment on him. He may have his own reason for doing things this way."

"What reason can he have? This is Xander we are talking about Giles!" Buffy bristled.

_I have my reason, because I need to look at the bigger picture._ Excalibur said. _Alone, I am near invincible, but when I am attached to a bearer, demons or powerful beings may be able to subvert my powers by suppressing my bearer. My power is too great to be allowed to fall into the hands of evil, because I am one of the seven keys of Earth._

"A key? What is that?" Giles asked puzzled. Buffy just frowned.

"I don't care if he's a earth key or car key or whatever key, he has no right to even thought about hurting Xander." Buffy said staunchly, standing beside Xander protectively. "No third grade magic sword is going to get away with what he planned to do to Xander!"

_I am more than a magic sword and that is the crux of my problems. Perhaps it will be best to show you._ Excalibur said. Everyone cried out in surprise as darkness swirled around them until everything is dark. The only light was from Excalibur who was now floating in front of them. _Relax, I am projecting inside your minds._ He said as the darkness whirled, and lights began to form. Xander realized with a shock that they are looking at stars.

_In the beginning there was nothing._ Excalibur said. Buffy and Willow cried out as there was a great bang and light began to form, planets flew past them until they were looking down at a blue planet revolving around a sun._ Then life began to form and it was then the world keys came into being. Each key allows and blocks access to other dimensions, an alternate dimension of how life began._

This time seven energy glows of different colors flew past them teasingly, a white glow settled onto Excalibur, a green glow falls back onto Earth, a yellow glow separated into four small orbs, entering each of them. The rest flew past them into space.

_I am one of the keys. We keys are the energy that forms a veil over each of these alternate dimensions. Altogether, there are seven neighboring dimensions next to Earth, and seven keys to separate them._

_Demons are after us because we bear enormous raw power, powers that could grant them godhood. Should any of us fall, the veils between the dimension we are guarding will also disappear. This world and the world from the other dimension will collapse into raw energy, destroying all life. This raw energy will go on to destroy other dimensions, resulting in the end of all life in all dimensions._

The others could feel the strong emotion of dread, and tiredness from Excalibur. The darkness dissipates as Buffy and the others found themselves standing back in the cave.

_That's why I planned to sever the bond previously._ Excalibur said. Xander could feel a strong regret coming from the sword. _I am aware it will totally destroy your mind Xander, but at that time, I had no idea if you could withstand the might of a demon and not taint the bonds between us. I am sorry, for I only thought to do what is right for this world._

There was a moment of stunned silence as Giles and the others blink in awe of the scenes that had flashed before them. Xander gave a sigh and then grinned wryly.

"Hey, that's ok, I mean this world is more important than one person's life." Xander said, embarrassed by Excalibur's apology.

"But Xander..." Buffy said

Xander shake his head. "No Buffy, I understand now. What Excalibur planned to do was right, I wouldn't want the lives of other people on my hands, not to add the life of worlds and other dimensions."

He turned to Excalibur and asked seriously. "So from what I understand, if you have no bearer, your power could not be stolen by any demons. Why would you want to be bonded with someone else then?"

_My first and only bearer until you was Arthur. At that time, there was a powerful demon lord from another dimension who had somehow gotten to Earth. He would have destroyed this world had I not lend my powers to Arthur._ Excalibur said. _Alone, most of my powers remain inaccessible to me. A result of an ancient pact made between the Powers of Good and Evil millennium ago to maintain the balance. With a bearer however, I can train him to tap into my pool of power and achieve great deeds. And with the event of Halloween night, that bond was transferred to you._

"So you are like the battery and I am a conductor." Xander paused in thought and then nodded picking up Excalibur. "Thank you for telling me that. I have thought about it. I will like you to sever the bond between us."

"Xander!" Willow cried out in shock. "You can't do that!"

_She is right. You are strong enough to bear me, I will not sever the bond. If I do that you will most likely become crazy or die._ Excalibur said forcefully.

"You don't understand. When the Source was messing around in my mind, several times I nearly give in to him. Can you imagine what will have happen if I really failed and the world ends? It will be on my shoulders, I don't want that."

"And what do you think I am doing these past two years?" Buffy cut in. "I have been fighting demons even though I know that for every one demon I put down there will be more to take their place. I have to stop every apocalypse because I know that if I do so other wise, the world will end."

Buffy said with quiet anger. "I have the responsibility of the world on my shoulders since I was 16 and I have never given up. Are you going to end your life because you are afraid of taking up responsibility for the world when you now have the chance?"

Xander flinched from Buffy's angry glare. "I didn't mean that. But it's just that Excalibur and the world would be safer without a bearer."

_That may be true, however, with me at your side, you'll also be powerful enough to stop the higher level demons. You may have a chance to make the world a better place._ Excalibur said. _I will not force you. It is true that with the bond between us, you will be hunted by demons who will want my powers. But on the other hand, I can train you to become strong enough to defeat those demons. And if you can vanquish those demons, wouldn't the world be a safer place for everyone?_

"Xander, I think you should reconsider." Giles said. "I can start training you in sword fighting. Your life is too precious to put to waste."

Willow knitted her hands anxiously together while Buffy just stared silently at Xander, unshed tears in her eyes. Xander swallowed, and sighed.

"Very well Excalibur, I promise to train hard and become stronger and be worthy of you." Xander said softly. Buffy smiled and Willow hugged Xander in relief.

"Welcome to becoming a champion of the world." Buffy said with a quiet smile. Xander gave her a sheepish grin.

_Good decision Xander._ Excalibur said with approval. _Now we need to bring back some stuff back with us. After all, you and your friends will need better weapons and funding if you are going up against upper level demons._

Willow squealed in delight. "You mean we are going to take all those jewels back with us? We'll be rich!"

Excalibur laughed. _Perhaps not all but I want to make sure all of you will have a fighting chance against all those demons. Willow I want you to search for a box wrapped with purple cloth next to the pile of weapons. Buffy and Giles, if you don't mind, please find a bag and take some gemstones and gold which you think will be sufficient to fund us for a few years. We may not be returning anytime soon._

_Xander, take the silver cube, one of the green amulet beside it, there's also a white palm sized object near the edge of the shelf. Also take four of the S shaped metal weapons from the top shelf. _

_The silver cube is called an A'flunate in ancient, translation means, the box of wonders. It opens a portal into a contained sub dimension where the ancients cultivated contained life in it._

"What does that means?" Xander asked in confusion.

_Never mind, you will understand when we use it next time. The white oval shaped object is a Co'Theik, a transporter key to this cave. With it you will be able to travel back here instantly. Of course the bearer of Excalibur must also be among those transported, or the protection spells of the cave will destroy any invaders._

_The green amulet is a defl'tor, it will only activate with those that have the blood of the ancient and will generate a force field that will protect the user from any harm._

Excalibur paused at Xander's amazed whistle. As Xander began to put the snake shaped weapons into his bag, he added._ Those are called the Zat'ni'katel. One shot from the weapon stuns, two shots kills and three shots disintegrate the subject._

"Cool." Xander said, dropping the Zat'ni'katels gingerly into his backpack.

"Ok, Excalibur, I've got the box." Willow said walking back towards Xander, carrying a purple cloth wrapped bundle in her hands. "But its weird, I will have thought the cloth will have disintegrated by all the years down here."

_There is a preservation spell in the cave._ Excalibur said just as Buffy and Giles arrived with two small bulging pouches in their hands. _Good lets go home._ Excalibur said.

* * *

In the fold of space, outside of the stream of time. Three beings observed the four figures moving in the cave. 

"The spell of chaos had created such havoc." The first being said gravely looking at his companions. "Buffy Summers and Nash Matthews gained the memories and powers of their Halloween personas, through the magical out burst and awakening of Paige Matthews Halliwell. One girl changes so many things."

"The human known as Owen Thurman has also become an immortal, the first champion of Chaos in centuries. No one knows which side he will aid or if Chaos will desire him to be neutral." The second being spat out, anger radiating from it.

"Ginny Matthews was also changed by the fairy queen though it is not known what the change is. The fey folks are a power outside of our own." The third said.

"And now Excalibur had chosen to align himself with the boy, like a master puppeteer pulling the strings of his puppet. Already he had given the boy weapons to use against us. And the box, to think he would hand the grimoire of Morgan Le Fay to the untrained young witch, absolutely pretentious!"

"The forces of light have gained a foothold with the appearance of Excalibur but we may still have a chance to turn it around. We will need to make our move." The first said. "Owen Thurman, Nash Matthews and Ginny Matthews may still be led to join our cause. We can't interfere directly, but we can send some... provocative visions to the Seer. Perhaps the Source will be clever enough for once to understand our meaning."

"Yes that sounds like a good idea. However, to be defeated by an untrained boy, perhaps we should look for a new demon to take over the power of the Source." The second said.

"Yes we should, there's one demon that stands out. You do remember Balthazar?"

* * *


	7. Chapter 7 : Vampires in the House

Disclaimer : I do not own Charmed or Buffy the Vampire Slayer or X-men or Highlander or SG-1. These characters are all great works done by their creators. And it will stay that way :p I own nothing and am only writing this story to see how these worlds will mesh.

Note: Ah Shit!! I just found out that there's an Ancient call Morgan Le Fay in SG-1. Damn it…. I stop watching the series after season 5 so I didn't know. Never mind, I will come up with a logical explanation to explain her away.

This Chapter and the Subsequent one is the turning point where everything will really begin. As many of you may have guessed Dawn is the green key and she'll appear soon in upcoming chapters as the Buffster's sister.

Thanks for your reviews Ant Crown, WBH21C , Truth Is What You Make Of It,Dnic5 and the rest of you guys D Appreciate it. There's no plan for Anubis currently, but I have plans for Owen, don't worry

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

Darkness looms in the horizon. The boy known as Xander Harris, now a man, stood inside a forest glade with his companions as he poured the last of his strength into Excalibur. To aid the sword in maintaining the veil between worlds that was soon to be broken. Oma watched in fear as the sky was torn apart and monsters, half elves half man, stepped through the broken veil.

_We have failed._ Oma thought, her heart clenching in pain as she watched the unholy army of magic made demons tear through the civilizations on Earth. Xander, and the other champions of light were the first to fall.

Weapons pattered harmlessly around the monsters as powerful magicks shielded them from even the most powerful of Earth's weapons. Up in the darkened sky hang a glowing red eye as the evil one looks on in glee at his handiwork.

Within days, the dark army had devastated Earth and the seven keys of this dimension were brought to the evil one, their powers were turned to evil. Dimensions after dimensions fell to the darkness, until only the brightest and most powerful of the dimensions were left. And the dark one still grows in power.

Oma Desala gazed down from her perch on the snow clad mountains. Tears stinging her eyes as the last of the visions faded away. The plan was all for naught. The future was still as dark as ever. She would have to find Elder Ralph, fast.

* * *

The afternoon sun shone in through the library windows. Four figures were gathered around the library table deep in discussion about what to do next.

_Morgan Le Fay was one of the many Ancients who volunteered to be experimented upon. The experiment at that time was to see if the Ancients could manipulate their own magic resistant genes into magic storing genes that can allow for the wielding of magic. _

_Morgan Le Fay was one of the few who survived the experiment and the only one to be able to manipulate the mystical forces._ Excalibur said gravely. _That grimoire is the collection of her life's work. It was among the many Ancients' artifacts Lancelot brought with him when he joined the order. _Excalibur said.

_The grimoire can only be activated be an Ancient, in this case Xander. According to Lancelot, the book will scan the current Ancient's speech patterns and change the data on its pages into recognizable language. The process will take almost a day, so I'll advise Xander to take this book back with him. The book can scan Xander's brain patterns as long as they are close together. After that, the book can be keyed to young Willow for her own use._

Giles nodded, looking down at the artifacts on the table. The wealth of their little trip lay in a pile. Weapons one side, the two pouches of jewels on the other. Giles hefted one of the pouches, pocketing it.

"I will take this and show it to the local jeweler for appraisal." Giles said. "We need to let each of the gems into the market slowly so as not to draw attention to ourselves. The rest of the gems together with the artifacts will be put in the library's safe in my office."

_Xander, it is prudent you take the defl'tor and one of the Zat'ni'katel with you. The defl'tor will self activate when you're in great fear or when you feel a threat to yourself. Keep it in your pockets and it should protect you from most harm. The Zat'ni'katel as I've said before are powerful weapons capable of even vanquishing a normal demon._ Excalibur advised.

Xander picked up the Zat'ni'katel gingerly, putting it in his backpack. He then pick up the green amulet, putting it in his pockets, making a mental note to draw a chain through it so he can hang it around his neck, keeping it constantly with him.

"So what are we going to do now?" Xander asked looking at Willow and Buffy's tired faces. They hadn't slept for more than 24 hours. "And I can't keep trudging Excalibur everywhere I go, he's too big and conspicuous."

Excalibur chuckled. _What's a weapon that cannot hide? If the bonds between you and me were stronger, you could have called me into your hands from anywhere in this world. However since our bonds are still young and weak, you'll just have to sheath me. That way, I'll always be within you._

"Sheath you? Be within me? What are you talking about?" Xander asked, he had a bad feeling about this all of a sudden.

_My bearer can bear me within his body. You have but to plunge me into your body and I will dissipate as raw energy throughout all of your cells._ Excalibur said calmly.

"What!!" Xander, Buffy and Willow exclaimed in horror. At the side of the table, Giles began rubbing his forehead.

"You can't be serious! I've seen how you cut through that minotaur, I prefer my Xander whole then in pieces thank you very much." Buffy said.

Xander just looked pale and gulped weakly at the mental image.

Excalibur gave a long suffering sigh. _I can cut through anything in this world with the exception of my bearer. What do you think I am asking Xander to do? Commit suicide? Don't be ridiculous!_

"But…." Xander said weakly glancing at the sharp side of the sword. "Can't we do it some other way?"

If Excalibur has eyes, he would have rolled them. _Trust me, if I wanted you dead, you'll be dead. And there is no other way because I must touch your blood flow to dissipate into your blood stream. Do it Xander, close your eyes, take a deep breath and plunge me into your chest. _Excalibur said patiently as if coaching a demented child.

Xander looked at Buffy and Willow weakly and then lifted up Excalibur, pointy end jabbing at his chest. "I feel like an extra in a Japanese samurai movie." Xander said clenching his teeth as he plunge the sword in with a forceful stroke.

There was a blast of white light and Xander suddenly felt every cell in his body filled with energy. Opening his eyes, he found his perceptions splitting into two. He could see Buffy and Willow. But he could also see how Excalibur saw Buffy and Willow now. Buffy was a splash of red and black with a hint of yellow at the core. The mesh of color swirled angrily, pulsing with constant energy. Willow on the other hand was bath in a bright yellow light shining brightly as a small sun. Giles has a yellow core though not as bright as Willow's.

_And so it is done._ Excalibur said within their minds contentedly. _If you ever need me to materialize, simply think of it and I'll rematerialize in your hands._

"Thanks but no thanks. I'll prefer you staying inside my body for a long time." Xander said with a weak gasp. "I don't want to do that anytime soon."

"Yeah, watching Xander pushing you into his body gives me the chills." Willow said shaking her head. "I really thought he was going to die."

Buffy nodded, giving Xander a small hug.

"So what now?" Buffy asked with a tired yawn.

"The thing now is to get back home and rest, we'll talk more tomorrow." Giles said, carrying the jewels and artifacts into his office putting them into his safe. He gave a sigh of relief as the safe click shut, locking those valuables from sight. He walked back into the library looking at his tired charges. "Alright let's go, we have enough surprises to deal with today."

As the four trudged out of the library, none of them felt the strings of fates changing around them, as one of the forces in the universe works subtly in the background.

* * *

_**During Halloween Night ….**_

_Buffy looked at the eighteenth century young girl who had taken over control of her body before her body had fainted. The brown haired young girl was a pretty little thing but very confused about why she was here. The few attempts by Buffy to talk to her was to no avail as she would flee to the darkness corner of her mind._

_Then the light had come, merging both of them together. The young women's every thoughts and desires became Buffy's. And in that second as pure whitelighter powers tried to dispel the Chaos magic, Buffy relived the life of the woman's spirit, from her birth till death. The young woman, died at the ripe age of sixty, but she had a dark secret that was eating her away, and Buffy promised to herself that the least she could do is fulfill the woman's last wishes._

* * *

Buffy gave a loud sigh of relief as she reached home. The tiredness of being up all day and night was finally bearing down on her. But she cannot rest yet, there was something she must still do. One last promise to the woman she had become on Halloween night.

Opening up her Internet Explorer, she started using the search engines to search for a particular name, the descendants of the aristocratic family that the spirit that had possessed her came from. At last she found it, after hours of searching. Her heart noted sorrowfully that there was only one direct line in the family left. Lady Lara Croft.

With a heavy heart, Buffy began to type an email to her.

* * *

The Red Phoenix and the Black Dragon hangs motionless in the cosmos. Both are two of the seven keys of Earth, the Red and the Black keys respectively. Ages past, since the beginning of time when they were born. When each of the keys was bonded by the law of balance to keep their powers in check, only the Red and Black keys retained their full power. For they were given the task of being Executioners of Balance, neither purely Good or Evil, serving to keep both sides in check.

_The first step has been fulfilled._ The phoenix said, its song setting the stars alight. _The visions of future had been sent to the Ascended, causing Excalibur to surface once again. Excalibur, one of our brother who was given the task of being a champion of light as we two became the Executioners of Balance._

_Now for step two._ The dragon said gravely. _Sometimes small sacrifices must be made to accomplished big tasks._

_As it is, as it has always been. _The phoenix said sadly, at what they are going to do next. _Paige Matthews Halliwell must make contact with Excalibur, no matter what the cost._

* * *

_**10 hours later…..**_

Paige moaned as she grabbed her head painfully. Instantly Aunt Millie had her arms around her, though Paige stiffened as a rush of her aunt's thoughts and memories came upon her as bare skin touched bare skin.

"Dear, are you alright?" Her aunt asked worriedly. "You have been having those headaches all day. I think you have better go and see a doctor before your flight to Los Angeles tonight. Come I'll bring you there now."

Paige nodded painfully, breathing in through her mouth as the pain slowly subsides. "I'll be fine Aunt Millie." She got up and got her purse, giving her aunt a wane smile. "Don't worry, I can manage the trip to the doctor myself."

Aunt Millie looked worriedly at the back of Paige as she walked out the front door. She shook her head, after last night during the Halloween gas leak, Paige had been experiencing painful headaches. She was a bit worried about her. That poor girl had already lost her parents a few years back, she had no need to be burden with a side effect from the gas leak.

Behind her, a wash of magic surrounded the sink, visible only to those who have the gift. There was a gurgle from the sink as she turned back to washing the dishes. Aunt Millie gave a frustrated exclamation as dirty water started rushing out from the sink as it clogged up.

"Ben! Ben! I think you need to call the plumbers." Aunt Millie shrieked. There was no response from her husband who was upstairs. Then she remembered, he was supposed to read the bedtime story to the twins around this time.

Giving a sigh, she wiped her hand dry of soapy water and started flipping the telephone book. Something caught in her eye and as she was rubbing it, a gentle wind started blowing, flipping the pages of the book. "Ah, that's it, Riddle Plumbers. The charges seem affordable." Aunt Millie said to herself as the pages flipped open to the section on plumbers.

Going to the phone, she started dialing the number.

* * *

"Boss hey boss, we got a call." The vampire known as Harry called to his sire as the three vampires sat in the old plumber's shop. They had taken over his shop two days ago and then taken over his business as well, doing house calls during the night.

"Good Good." The sire said, getting up and stretching himself. "Let's go get ourselves some dinner. Tony, get the tool box, we're leaving."

* * *

Buffy rub her grainy eyes wondering why she was out patrolling when she should be getting more sleep. It had been a long night and morning after all. But something within her was restless and she couldn't get peaceful sleep no matter how she toss and turn.

She walked down the 5th avenue, cutting down the street towards GreenPeace Cemetery which was at the other end of the road.

_Maybe I should go home and rest._ Buffy thought tiredly, covering a yawn with her hand.

Her ears perked up as a scream sounded around the corner of the street.

"What the…" Buffy said, grabbing her stakes and ran down the corner. The screams were coming from a house up ahead, the door was opened and a van with the name Riddle's Plumbers was parked in front.

Without a pause, Buffy leapt over the little picket fence surrounding the house and ran inside. She paused at the morbid scene that greeted her. One vampire was feeding on a middle aged man who was hanging limply, a huge gash on his forehead where he had been slashed. Another vampire was holding onto a struggling woman as he bit into her neck.

_The man is most likely dead._ Buffy noted with clinical detachment. _But the woman can still be saved._

With a practiced leap across the room, she kicked out the legs of the vampire holding the woman.

"Yo Fang face, pick on someone your own size." Buffy said slamming a fist into the face of the vampire, causing him to lose his grip on the woman who fell onto the floor, blood pouring out her neck. "Shit…" Buffy said, giving the large neck wound a worried glance.

The distraction gave the vampire a chance to land a blow into Buffy's face, causing her to slam into the couch in front of the tv.

"Tony we've got company. Finish your meal and help me out." The vampire called out.

Tony turned around, eyes glowing yellow as he wipe the blood of his lips, tossing the lifeless man aside. He took one look at the petite blond and smiled evilly. "Well, well, a desert has dropped in."

Buffy got up with a muffled groan, eyes burning as she eyed the two bodies on the floor. "You Are Dead." She growled, leaping at the nearest vampire who dodges out of her way. Buffy blinked tiredly, the lack of sleep is making her lose her concentration. With a mental nudge to herself, she lashed out with her hand again, lightning fast.

The vamp exploded into a cloud of dust as the stake entered his heart. Buffy looked at the vampire named Tony. "I am the Slayer, did you just called for desert?"


	8. Chapter 8 : Breaking of the Veils

Disclaimer : I do not own Charmed or Buffy the Vampire Slayer or X-men or Highlander or SG-1. These characters are all great works done by their creators. And it will stay that way :p I own nothing and am only writing this story to see how these worlds will mesh.

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

Nash woke up in cold sweat. Screaming and sounds of a fight going on downstairs had jerked him out of his sleep. Leaping out of bed with an inhuman agility, he padded quietly towards his door and opened it to a slit. Across the corridor, he could see Ginny peeking out of her room worriedly. She caught sight of Nash and ran out of her room as Nash quickly walked into the corridor giving Ginny a reassuring hug.

"What happened?" Ginny asked her face pale. The screaming had stopped and now there was just silence. The staircase creaked ominously as if someone heavy was walking up.

Nash pushed Ginny behind him as he tensed his small muscles. Something very bad was coming, he could sense it. A man looking like the monsters from Halloween night walked into view. He smiled showing a row of sharp teeth as he saw the two young children.

"Ah, young and tasty, just the way I like it." He chuckled, advancing upon the frightened children.

* * *

Paige rubbed her eyes tiredly. The doctor had given her a packet of painkillers and she had popped the first two in once she got them. The pain had subsided, but there was still a dull throbbing. 

She paused as she saw the Plumber's van outside her uncle's house. A loud crash caused her to snap her head towards the open door. There was another crash and what sounded like glass breaking. With great dread, Paige started running towards the house.

_Oh God. Please let everything be alright._ Paige pleaded worriedly.

As she stepped into the house, she saw the two bodies first. One was her uncle, his face and skin and unnatural grayish pallor that Paige knew at once he was dead. The second was her aunt, blood pouring from her neck into the carpet.

"Oh God! Oh God!!" Paige gasped as she ran towards her aunt. "Aunt Millie, Aunt Mille talks to me, what happened here?" She pressed her hand on the wound, but the blood was already slowing, the body turning cold. Hurriedly pressing her head against her aunt's chest, she could hear no heartbeat.

"No." Paige whispered in horror, backing away from the lifeless body. It was just like last time when her parents were killed in the car crash, only this time, she had lost everyone she had known.

There was another sound of a crash from the living room and Paige's heart thumped painfully even as rage began to build up. She looked around for a weapon and saw a piece of sharpen wood on the floor. Picking it up, she stepped into the living room and stared in horror at the scene before her.

There in the corner of the living room, a blond girl who Paige remembered distinctly from Halloween night was lying in the wreckage of the family's grandfather clock. Her hands and face was cut by the glass fragments. But what really caught Paige's attention was the brown haired monster leaning against the girl.

"Well I guess the Slayer's not so tough after all isn't she?" the monster chuckled and opened his set of sharp teeth leaning in closer for the bite. The blond haired girl struggled weakly but the monster had her pinned down.

Paige thought of the bite mark on her aunt's neck and looked at the monster in revulsion and then pure anger. "Get away from her!" She screamed, leaping forward, her hands reaching out trying to tug the monster away from the girl. Bare skin against bare skin, Paige gasped as a barrage of memories slammed into her.

She _was_ the vampire. She saw as he and two others walked out of the van. She watched in petrified silence as her Uncle let them in. She watched helpless as the memories showed the monsters tearing into her uncle and aunt, as THIS monster sucked the blood of her uncle until he is dead.

Something within Paige snapped, and instantly, she was consumed by fury. The vampire essence that she had absorbed and duplicated from the vampire leaped into being. Taking over her body as blood lust overwhelmed her.

* * *

Buffy gasped as the vampire that was pinning her down was ripped off her by the brown haired girl that had suddenly appeared. The young girl looked more feral than human, her face twisting into an inhuman mask as she leaped across the room and tear off the head of the vampire with inhuman strength. The vampire exploded into dust. 

"Hey, thanks." Buffy said tentatively, picking herself off the wreckage and walked carefully towards the young woman.

The young woman turned towards Buffy and gave a threatening growl. Buffy could see the girl struggling as if with some inner demons before the furrows in her face relaxed and she looked at Buffy with some resemblance of humanity.

"Are you ok?" Buffy asked, trying not to wince at the pain she felt with every step she took. That damn vampire had broken at least one of her rib bones.

The girl backed away from Buffy's touch. Her eyes stared at Buffy unseeing. "They are all dead, all dead." She whispered dully.

Buffy paused and looked at the bodies in the hallway and looked away. "I'm sorry…"

A scream upstairs interrupted her. The young woman snapped her face up the ceiling and a variety of emotions went through her face.

"The children! Oh my god, the children!" She gasped, running towards the stairs, Buffy following closely behind her.

* * *

Nash slammed at the demon with all he got, knocking the vampire a few steps back. However, even though his strength was multiplied several times because of the Spiderman genes inside him, his basic strength was that of a young boy. Multiple that by several times and it was equal to a punching power of a heavy weight adult, not even reaching the strength of a vampire. 

"Well, well, the little twerp has some surprises." The vampire growled, rubbing his chin. "You'll pay for that insolence." He said, lashing out at Nash.

Nash dropped out of the way, his spider senses giving him plenty of warning. What he lacked in strength, he more than make up in speed and agility. Dodging and punching whenever he could.

However, even with his knowledge of Peter Parker's whole life, even with Spiderman's power, Nash is still but an untested and untrained child. The vampire managed at last to land a blow which sends Nash tumbling into the walls, lifeless.

Ginny ran forward from where she was hiding, standing protectively in front of her fallen brother as the vampire advanced upon the two of them.

"Now that I'm all fired up, let's have me some dinner."

Ginny glanced up at the monster, mouth quivering but refused to back down. She took a deep breath and screamed.

A sound of pure power exploded from her little lips as an unnatural wind slammed into the vampire, sending him crashing down the staircase.

* * *

Paige glance in shock as a body of another monster fell down the stairs, exploding into dust before her very eyes. Then she looked up and quickly climbed upstairs. There in the corner of the hallway, she found a pale faced Ginny crouching over Nash who was lying in a heap on the floor. 

"No!" Paige screamed. Rushing forward, she turned the young boy over and was relieved to see that he was still breathing. Ginny tugged at her shirt and started sobbing. Paige pulled the young child closer to her as her brain shut down again. _What was she to do? Aunt Millie and Uncle Ben are dead._ The question haunted her in the depths of her mind.

Buffy stood at the staircase looking sadly at the young girl. She was staring blankly at the wall as she hugged the two children closer to her. Buffy recognized the look, the girl was in shell shock, either she would pull through or she would be scarred for life.

The sound of police sirens blasted down the streets outside. Some of the neighbors must have called the police about the noise. There was shouting downstairs as the police entered the house. Buffy gave a sigh, it was too late to slip away now, so she sat down beside the young girl looking at her wearily. Within minutes the police burst upstairs.

"Freeze, or we'll…." The police officer paused at the sight before him, looking at the battered young women and children. When no one made a move to speak, he shouted downstairs. "Someone get the medic now!"

* * *

Joyce Summers fumed as she drove towards the 5th avenue. She had been woken up by a police call, found out that her daughter had slipped out of the house at night and was informed that Buffy was currently at a homicide scene. When she sees that child of hers…. Joyce gritted her teeth, looking at the address the police officer had given her. 

5th avenue, house 61. Joyce turned the corner and her heart slammed into her throat as she looked at the number of police cars parked outside the house and the ambulance that was at the edge. The full import of the police officer's statement suddenly slammed into her.

_Your daughter is at a homicide scene madam._ The police officer had said

Worry gnawed at her as she parked her car and ran down the street towards the house. _Please don't let Buffy be hurt._ Joyce prayed.

A police office stopped her at the fence of the house.

"This place is under police investigations…"

"My name is Joyce Summers, my daughter is here." Joyce cut in, peering worriedly towards the house.

"Ah Mrs Summers, your daughter is at the ambulance right now with her friends."

"Ambulance?" Joyce shrieked. But she was already running down the road before the office could reply.

She gave a sigh of relief as she saw Buffy surround by Giles, two children and a young girl who was staring unseeingly into space, a blanket wrapped around her. Buffy and Giles were talking animatedly but they stopped when they saw Joyce approaching.

"Young lady." Joyce began, intending to ground her daughter for life, but then relief won over the need for punishment and she reached out and wrapped Buffy in a tight hug.

"Don't ever do this again." She said shaking her daughter. "What were you thinking? Sneaking out of the house at night?"

Joyce looked at the bandages around Buffy's hands. "And what happened? Who did this to you?"

Buffy looked at Giles, biting her lips.

"Three gang members on PCP attacked the Matthews family disguised as Plumbers. Buffy was walking past and she ran in to stop them." Giles said, fumbling with the outright lie.

"What?! Buffy! How could you? You might have been hurt!" Joyce glared at her small sized daughter. Gangs on PCP, she could not imagine the damage they could do to her poor child, though Buffy seemed to have gotten out with but a few scratches.

"Buffy may have saved these children's life, their parents were killed." Giles said, eyeing the two children who were eyeing him back suspiciously. He had heard from Buffy how the vampire attacking the children had vanished into dust before anyone could stake him. It was a mystery better left to solve when they have time to investigate more. The little boy had also taken a bump to the head but had recovered remarkable fast and gained consciousness by the time Giles arrived at the scene.

He eyed the young girl a bit older than Buffy's age. She was seated at the edge of the ambulance as the attendees tried to coach some life into her. According to Buffy, the girl had tear out the head of a vampire. That she had the strength to do that was amazing. He had a feeling something weird was going on with this family.

"Oh dear." Joyce lifted a hand to her chest turning to the two children and the older girl. "You mean their parents were dead?"

Giles nodded. "Buffy called me to arrange things with the morgue. I personally think the young lady there is in shock, it may be best if I could handle the paperwork for her."

"Oh, you're such a kind person Mr Giles, but what about their relatives? Why aren't the police contacting them?"

Giles winced. "Apparently, from what the police managed to get from the young woman, they had no relatives left. The young woman is cousin to the two children. Her own parents died a while back. The social workers will be coming soon to take them into temporarily lodgings."

Joyce eyes harden. "Buffy, wait here for me. I'm going to bring those three back to our home." She said as she hurried off to the police officer standing nearby.

Buffy watched her mother's retreating back and turned to Giles.

"So what do we do…"

"You're the Slayer." A voice said from behind them. Buffy and Giles spin around and saw it was the young woman. Buffy remembered one of the police officer saying her name was Paige Matthews.

"What are you talking about Miss Matthews?" Giles asked cautiously.

"I was going through the monster's memories." Paige said in a dreamy voice, her voice not focusing. "You told him you were a slayer. You killed his companion. I could sense his fear of you, some recognition."

Paige frowned as her eyes peer intently at Buffy. "You kill those monsters for a living, they are scared of you."

"Erm." Buffy swallowed, something about the young woman was starting to creep her out. It was as if part of her was in the present and the other part was… away.

Giles reached out a hand to touch the girl only to quickly retrieve it as the girl danced back with a shriek.

"No No, don't touch me! I don't want your memories!"

"What?" Giles gapped at her.

"Mr Giles! What are you doing?" Joyce asked, rushing back, the police officer behind her.

There was an awkward pause and then surprisingly the young woman spoke up.

"It was nothing, I was just jumpy." Paige said after a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I troubled everyone."

"Nonsense." Joyce said hotly. "You're no trouble at all. Come on, get your cousins, you guys will be staying at my house until we can find a better place for you."

She turned to Giles and Buffy who were still staring at the young woman in shock.

"Giles, I trust you to settle the paperwork for the bodies." Joyce said with a shuddering breath. "Did Buffy give you our number? Good she has? Then call us if there's any problem. I am not letting these children be shuttled off to social care after what they had been through."

"Erm good good." Giles said with a cough.

Joyce nodded turning to Buffy. "Let's get back home, I think everyone is tired."

As Joyce turned away, Giles gave Buffy a look. "Keep a close eye on Miss Matthews. She seems to possess some powers. Though I do not believe she is of evil intent."

"Don't worry, I will." Buffy said, giving a last look at Giles as she ran after her mom.

* * *

Paige looked up numbly as they reached the Summers' house. The two children were ushered into the spare room after drinking a cup of Joyce Summers' hot chocolate. Paige had politely refused, her stomach churning, she does not think she could take in any substance at the moment. She had a feeling she will throw up if she does. 

Joyce had insisted Paige sleep in her room while she herself sleeps in the couch. Paige had refused though, they had already caused so much trouble for the older woman. So after making sure the children and Paige were going to be alright, she had retired upstairs with Buffy, her daughter, the Slayer.

Paige tested the words on her lips. It was so bizarre, the attack on her family, the memories she had absorbed from the vampire that was there, the knowledge from those memories that there were other creatures worse than the vampires out there, and that a girl called the Slayer hunted those creatures. A girl like Buffy.

"You're still awake?" A voice asked softly from the stair railing.

Paige sat up on the couch and looked at Buffy as she walked towards her. The two girls stared at each other for a moment.

"I want to know about the vampires, the demons and the Slayer." Paige said at last breaking the silence.

Buffy's eyes widen, and quickly gave a cautionary look upstairs to make sure her mom was not listening.

"How do you know about them?"

Paige shook her head confusedly. "I don't know, ever since Halloween night yesterday, whenever I touch someone's bare skin, I would relieve all their memories. Like when I touch the…the vampire at the house."

Buffy's eyes narrowed as she realized the effects of the Halloween spell was more far reaching than she had thought. "What did you dress as?"

"Rogue, from X-men. You really believe me?" Paige asked looking hopefully at Buffy.

"I see. Yes, I believe you, something strange happened last night." Buffy said, her mind churning. She does not know much about X-men but she recognizes the name came from a comic. "Do you have any left over memories too?"

"Yes! How do you know?"

"Because I also have them." Buffy said with a sigh. "Look it is late, and I am not sure I can really explain it clearly, but I know someone who can. If you still want to know, meet me at the Sunnydale High School Library tomorrow morning."

Paige nodded, feeling the stress and tiredness of the long night washing over her.

"Thanks." She whispered as Buffy walked away.

* * *

Leo looked in through the windows at his charge lying down peacefully on the couch. The vampire attack had caught the elders unaware and the aftermath had caused the elders to be in a furry. Not because Paige's aunt and uncle had died, but because she and her cousins had exhibited powers they were not born with. 

The elders had known in a way that Paige Matthews, Nash Matthews and even Buffy Summers had retained their Halloween's personas' memories and in Nash and Paige's case, special abilities, but seeing them in action was another thing.

The powers Paige and Nash Matthews had gained were very powerful, virtually changing their body code. In Nash's case, he had the DNA of part spider, part human which will only grow stronger as he grows older. Paige's own inert charmed powers and whitelighter powers on the other hand had radically changed the new abilities she gained during Halloween.

From what the elders had said, Paige could absorb the memories of whom she touches and also duplicates the power of any supernatural beings she came in contact with, at least for a short duration. What had shocked the elders however was Ginny Matthews, for the elders had belatedly realized what the Fairy Queen had did to her. The Queen of Fairies had given a little girl the powers of spell song, power that can be crafted by any sound she makes. A powerful and dangerous tool in the hands of one so young.

The elders had explicit instructions for Leo to look after the whole Matthews clan, protecting them if necessary. Such an outright breaking of the rule that whitelighters should not involve themselves in battle shows how desperate the elders are, especially with the visions of doom several elders had already seen. Several other new whitelighters were also assigned to watch over them, word from above is, the spell singer and Paige Matthews must not die, _they_ have use for them. The boy is lesser priority.

Leo clenched his teeth painfully. He will protect all of them, no matter what.

* * *

The Red Phoenix sighed, sending the last ripples of its power to the little planet called Earth. Such a little planet, but within that planet alone contains three of the seven world keys. A world destined for greatness. 

_Paige Matthews has made her first contact with the demon world and also the Slayer._

The Black Dragon looked down at the weave of power they had spun. _The times are desperate, there was no time for the young woman to grow in her own pace. Xander Harris is our hope, and Paige Matthews will be our wild card._

_The future has told us we could not win by building our own forces in our own dimension, we will simply not be strong enough to overcome the darkness. The only way to defeat the Dark Lord is to bring the fight to him and stop him before he had gained too much power. _The Phoenix said.

The Black Dragon chuckled humorously. _Oh we will, this dimension will not fall while one of us is still watching over it._

* * *

_**9.00am in the morning Sunnydale time**_

"_The charmed ones are here Xander." Buffy said looking at him with tired eyes. "They had managed to destroy the Source who was working in league with the Dark one. Now we just have to concentrate on protecting the veils."_

_Xander gave her a wane smile. "Yeah just like old times isn't it?" _

_He gave a gasp of pain as something in his chest burned._

"_Xander what happened?" Buffy asked worriedly, holding him up._

_The gathered witches, hunters and the occasional demons who had joined their rag tag group looked on in worry._

_Xander pushed Buffy away, calling Excalibur into his hands._

"_The Dark one has started attacking the veils! Everyone into positions. Witches, Charmed ones, lend me your strength." He said concentrating his pure will power, feeding Excalibur's power into the veils that separate the dimensions from each other._

_A dark malevolent force pulsed at the other end, slowly tearing the veils apart, even the various powers of the Charmed ones and the witches are not enough to hold it back. Slowly the veils tear open and an unholy army of half elves half orcs stepped through, pouncing on the remaining champions of light who were still standing._

_His hold on the veils lost forever. Xander gave a inhuman cry of pain as he launch himself into the fight._

_They are going to lose the battle, he knew that in his heart, but he will go down fighting. The demons tear at him and flashes of pain ran through his body._

"ARghh!!!!" Xander woke with a cry of alarm, the dream still vividly in his mind as he checked his body for injuries. "What the hell was that?"

_That was a vision of the future. _Excalibur said gravely within his mind. _And we have a problem._

* * *

"Damn how does this stupid thing work." Giles cursed as he fumbled with his cell phone, one hand on the driving wheel. He was making a trip to the morgue to make some last arrangements for the bodies when the phone had ringed. 

"Hello, yeah, yeah Xander? What is the problem? What? You had a vision?" Giles could feel a headache forming. "I see because of Excalibur I suppose. Alright, meet me at the library we'll talk more about it in a while. Buffy's going to be there, give Willow a call, and ask her to meet us there."

Giles switched off his mobile and concentrate on the road. Gods. Xander and visions. Now, _that_ sounded like the end of the world. Giles gave weary shake of his head.

* * *

Buffy slammed down the front door to Willy's bar, her strength refreshed by a good night's sleep. 

Willy walked out from the back room and eyed the Slayer cautiously.

"Now, now Slayer, please don't go knocking down my door, they are expensive to fix… gurhhaaa…." Willy gave gurgle as Buffy strode forward, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and slammed him into the wall.

"Now Willy, I need some answers and I need them quick. What do you know of the three vampires that had been masquerading as plumbers. Two people were killed and I want to know who sent them."

"Let… guaa… me go first…." Willy gasped.

Buffy dumped him unceremoniously onto the floor, feet tapping angrily as she glared at him.

"You must be talking about Roughneck and those two idiots he sired. Those three are just your normal run off the mill vampires. They killed the old plumber and had been using his business as a meal ticket at night."

"And you didn't inform me?" Buffy said a slow rage building up.

"Aww… Slayer come on man, I am doing a business here, not being your little spy… Argh!!" he gasped as Buffy kicked him in the stomach.

Buffy smiled sweetly down at him, showing her teeth. "The way I see it, you have a choice, you can inform me about the latest vampire activities willingly, _or_ you can inform me _after_ I had break every last one of your bones."

Willy gulped, something told him this morning was not a good time to piss off the Slayer. "Yeah ahh… sure."

"Good, I will hate to see you in intensive care." Buffy said, walking out of the bar, making her way towards the high school.

* * *

Owen sighed as he parked his bike at the parking lot. He had been discharged from hospital yesterday after a remarkable recovery that had the doctors stunned. The doctors had then rushed him out of the hospital as if he sudden had some strange transmittable disease. When he returned home, he had discovered he had left his bag in his locker. He had meant to retrieve it after Halloween night and dropping off the children, but he had landed in hospital. 

His wallet and homework is in the bag, so there's no choice but to go down to school on Sunday. _Crap_, Owen thought to himself. With a glance at the school, he walked across the fields, noticing that the cheerleaders were practicing on the other side. He ignored the looks the girls were giving him as he walked towards the lockers hallway.

* * *

"My God, that's Owen, isn't he such a hunk." Aura paused in her practice, staring at the guy across the field longingly. 

"Don't be such a slut." Harmony said even as she shot the broadly muscled guy a hot look.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Come on, we need a break anyway. Let's see what he's up to and have a nice chat with him."

* * *

Leo frowned, approaching the high school. He could sense his charge inside, but there was also another presence that burns like the sun in his mind's eye. A being of pure energy which currently seems non threatening. He had left the new whitelighters to look after the children while he checked on Paige. 

Walking briskly down the hallway to the library, he gave a startle cry as a swamp of wild energy washed over him.

* * *

Paige opened the door to the library hesitantly. 

"Hello." She called out as she entered. Buffy had given her directions to the high school and had left in a hurry. She had told Paige she would meet her there after settling some business.

A raven haired young man walked out from between the shelves, holding an old tome in his hands. He looked surprised to see her.

"Erm hi, today is Sunday. The library is not open."

"I am not visiting the library, Buffy asked me to wait here for her. She had something to tell me."

Xander blinked looking at the young woman who looked very frail, but still stunningly beautiful.

_I can sense great powers within her._ Excalibur said warningly. _The powers sing of the light in such a way that I have never seen before. It is as if she is half human and half…. _

Excalibur paused then gave the mental equivalent of a shrug. _It couldn't be. Perhaps I am mistaken._

_But she's beautiful._ Xander thought back, thoughts of his visions pushed to the back of his mind as he placed the book of prophecy he had been holding onto the table.

"Hi, I am Xander Harris, friend of Buffy." Xander said, walking up to her, extending his hand.

"Paige Matthews." Paige said, finding no way out from touching the young man's hand without being rude. She reached out and grasped his hands. She had steeled herself for the young man's memories, but she was not prepared for a second batch of memories, far older than time, ancient and strangely un-living. Her mouth opened into a silent scream as she glowed with a pure white light, as Rogue's power, twisted by her whitelighter powers duplicated the energy of Excalibur who was still within Xander's body.

_Xander! Let go of her hand this instant!!_ Excalibur roared in his mind, watching in horror as the young woman begin to glow with energy, a flow of power that is exactly like his. She was not stealing his massive store of energy, he would have known if she did, rather, she was somehow duplicating his power. His powers which can grant god hood is more than a mere human can control.

"I can't! She's grasping too tightly!." Xander said as he tried to peel off the young woman's hand which had cramped in a death grip. Xander's eyes watered at the brightness of the light radiating from her. "Excalibur what's happening?"

Excalibur had no time to answer as the young woman burst into a mass of shining orbs which spread outwards with remarkable speed, engulfing half the school. The pure energy within her body ran wild, and it was all Excalibur could do to maintain a grip on those powers, an exact copy of his. But it was to no avail, the duplicate powers ran out of control, creating a tear in the dimensions. Excalibur struggled valiantly to hold the veils separating realities together.

Xander screamed in pain as the light consumed him.

* * *

Excalibur roared as he was turned into orbs of pure energy. With fanatic weaving of his powers, he tried to see a way out, to keep the wild energy under control. But though those powers were similar to his, _had_ been duplicated from his, he had no control over it. He could only watch in shock as the wild energy unlocked the veils in this dimension and the next, threatening to take out all life in the subsequent nearby dimension when the energies from the different dimensions mingled together. 

_There is another way._ A voice said, holding him strong, giving him strength.

_Who is there._ Excalibur asked, trying to search with his senses in the maelstrom of pure magic.

_Have you forgotten us so fast dear brother?_ Another voice, deeper and darker said mockingly. _It had only been a few hundred thousand years._

An emotion that is akin to fear rushed to him. His brother and sister, the Black and Red Keys. The only two keys who retained access to their true powers while the rest of the keys had their powers binded by the Creator.

_Why had you contacted me now?_ Dread filled him. The Black and Red Keys were the executioners of balance in this dimension, they would not had contacted him if something serious is not going on.

_In the other dimension that you guard, a Dark Lord is raising in power, he will began consuming the Keys in his own world and will then move on to ours and then Dimension after Dimension will fall, for no one thereafter can resist his might._ The Black Key said.

_But that is only the future we had seen._ The Red Key said. _If he was stopped before he consumes the powers of the world keys in his Dimension, he can still be stopped._

_You want me to go there._ Excalibur said, realizing what happened, feeling the swamp of wild energy around him, energy that can unlock the dimension veils. And if he really strains his powers, he might be able to use it to teleport to the other dimension. _You are insane! If I leave this dimension, there will be a reality rift, there will be no one taking my place to guard the veils I am in charge of!_

_Did you not see the vision we sent you? This dimension will fall either way, at least this way we still have a fighting chance._

_And I am sure the slayer and the other champions left in this world can take care of whatever comes out of the reality rift._ The Black Key said.

_What do you mean whatever champions are left?_ Excalibur asked. The wild energy had stopped moving, the powers of the Black and Red Key had contained the energy influx and it had stop spreading.

_Some are in this building now, transport all of them and they shall be your army against the Dark one._ The Black Key said.

_We had scryed all possible futures, the people gathered here now have the best chance of defeating the Dark Lord._ The Red Key said sadly.

Excalibur felt a burning rage consumed him. _You bastards! You have manipulated everyone to be here. If anyone was harmed…._

_Always the Champion of Light. Your title suits you well brother. _The Black Dragon said mockingly.

_Hush, enough bickering. Excalibur, you know full well where our loyalties lies, neither with the light or the dark, we do what is necessary to protect this Dimension. Now make your choice, go or not to go._

_Was there even a choice. _Excalibur gritted out._ At least tell me who I am dealing with over there._

_He is called the Dark Lord Sauron._

* * *

Willow ran up the slope towards the school. Xander had called her, asking her to meet at the library. Willow grinned as she thought about the spell book she will be getting from Xander. 

_Spell book of Morgan Le Fay, how cool is that?_ Willow thought humming happily to her self.

A sharp pain speared through her chest and she collapsed onto the gravel pavement gasping. She could feel something, a huge energy pressing down on her. Lifting up her head took an effort and her eyes widen as she looked at the high school in front of her, white light was engulfing the school.

Petrified and immobilized, she could only watch as the white light dissolved everything. There was a loud "BOOM" which sounded through Sunnydale and Willow watched in horror as the white light exploded, leaving a huge crater where the high school had been.

The energy pressing her down was suddenly lifted and she got to her feet, running and screaming towards the crater. The Sunnydale High School was situated on top of a slope. But now, an empty crater formed beside a pile of wreckage where half of the High School used to be. But what drew her attention was a giant rip in the sky extending to the bottom of the crater. The tear in space shimmer with dazzling colors though sometimes Willow could make up creatures, humans, inside the tear.

_This cannot be happening._ Willow thought in shock, her mind unable to process any further. She looked into the crater going down a few feet into the ground. Dark clouds were forming above the crater and the tear in space at an unnatural speed and soon a heavy localized thunderstorm danced over the crater, drenching Willow who stared unseeingly into the distance, at the place where the Sunnydale High School Library used to be.

Something flew out of the tear in space, a dark shape in the heavy rain, flying wobbly towards Willow. With a cry of shock, she stumbled back as it landed on her. Willow froze as she found herself face to face with a small reptilian creature that looks like a baby dragon. The baby dragon bleached a small ball of fire which hovered over Willow's startled face. The pouring rain quickly snuffed out the small fireball, leaving Willow staring blankly into the baby dragon's eyes.

"Arghk?" It said, nudging Willow's neck.

In the distance, sounds of the police sirens blared loudly in the pattering silence of the rain. And in true Sunnydale tradition, the police arrived late at the scene.

* * *

So what do you guys think of this chapter? Please reviews!! 

Thanks for the reviews Ant Crown, Grd, WBH21C and reviewer , I've made the necessary changes to the spelling mistakes.


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